India, US sign counter-terrorism pact

Jul 23, 2010, 13:31 GMT

New Delhi - India and the Untied States Friday signed a counter-terrorism deal that includes joint probes of bombings, cooperation in cyber and border security and measures to check financing of terrorist activities, officials said.

The pact, which was firmed up during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US in November 2008, was signed by the US envoy to India, Timothy J Roemer, and federal Home Secretary GK Pillai in New Delhi.

'Today, with the formal signing of the initiative, we take several significant steps forward against terrorism,' Roemer said in a statement.

'In the coming days and months there will be even closer information sharing and collaborative efforts on issues ranging from bomb blast probes and major event security to mega-city policing, cyber and border security.'

The agreement aims to enhance cooperation between the two countries in counter-terrorism as an important element of their bilateral strategic partnership.

The initiative provides for strengthening capabilities to combat terrorism effectively, development of investigative skills and promotion of cooperation between forensic science labs.

It also seeks to enhance capabilities to act against money laundering, counterfeit currency and financing of terrorism, improve mass transit and rail security, and increase exchanges between coast guards and navies on maritime security.

The pact was signed a day after top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen warned of another Mumbai-style attack in India, news reports said.

The Mumbai carnage of 2008, which Indian officials say was carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group, left 166 people dead.

Mullen, who is currently in India, told journalists travelling with him that he was concerned the LeT was emerging as a 'larger, regional and global threat,' the IANS news agency reported.