Washington, June 4 (IANS) Reminding the United States that terror knows no boundaries, India has asked Washington to fight terrorist groups across the board, including Pakistan-based anti-Indian militant groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) that is blamed for the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.
‘We have conveyed to the United States our concerns and they understand our sensitivities,’ External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters Friday when asked if India and the US were on the same page with respect to Pakistan.
Alluding to Islamabad’s reluctance to take action against the LeT, he said terror outfits have to be dealt with across the board and not selectively as ‘these terrorist organisations are like a syndicate’.
‘In Pakistan, what we find is that if they ban some particular organisation, the same set of people create another organisation,’ Krishna said.
‘The driving force is also same – to export terror to other countries. To attempt terrorist attacks in third countries, just like an attempt was made at the Times Square in New York’ by naturalised Pakistani American Faisal Shahzad, who was trained in Pakistan.
‘It is a grim reminder that terror knows no boundaries. It can hit anybody anywhere. That’s a very well-oiled machinery,’ Krishna said.
‘One has to be extremely cautious, careful and one will have to look at the long-term impact these terrorists have,’ he said.
‘Terrorist organisations will have to be dealt with across the board and cannot be fought on a selective basis.’
Asked if he had raised India’s concerns with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Krishna who had referred to the Times Square case in his opening statement at their strategic dialogue, said: ‘Clinton is quite aware of India’s various concerns as regards to Pakistan. This has been discussed with Clinton and also at the official level at greater detail.’
‘The message I gave the US is that they are aware of our concerns and they are not going to do anything that will affect India’s interests,’ he said.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
