INDIA,US TO BOOST SECURITY COOPERATION

India, US to boost security cooperation

             India and the United States Friday agreed to intensify cooperation in counter-terrorism, intelligence accessing and sharing and cyber-security measures.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who arrived in India Tuesday on a four-day trip, held a meeting with Home Minister P. Chidambaram to jointly launch the first US-India homeland security dialogue.At the end of the day-long meeting between senior security officials of the two countries, the two sides identified six key areas for cooperation, a joint statement said.
They include maritime, border and coastal security; efforts to stop illegal money used to foster terrorism and terror groups; cooperation in mega-city policing; counter-narcotics measures; transnational crime; and security of infrastructure transportation and trade.

   The two sides also agreed on deepening technological cooperation to fight the threat of terrorism and other security-related challenges.They also discussed their cooperation in the investigations into the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack and reiterated their governments' commitment to bring the perpetrators and the supporters of the carnage that claimed 166 lives to justice. "Chidambaram and Napolitano committed their governments to comprehensive sharing of information relating to the Mumbai attack," the statememt said.According to sources, the two sides also discussed the ongoing trial of the Mumbai attack in a US court in which key conspirator David Coleman Headley has alleged that Pakistan's spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was involved in the assault.Napolitano assured India of more "access" to Headley, saying when "the (Mumbai terror) case is over, there will be more access given".

But she declined to comment on the trial. "I would suggest that we are here to talk about the strategic partnership between India and the United States. When the case is litigated, it is not appropriate to comment," Napolitano said at a joint press conference with Chidambaram when asked to comment on Headley's revelations.The crucial talks were held as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan to review the situation there in the aftermath of the the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by crack American commandos.Without naming Pakistan, the India-US joint statement said Chidambaram and Napolitano "reaffirmed their governments' resolve to defeating the forces of terrorism and called for effective steps by all countries to eliminate safe havens and infrastructure for terrorism".Napolitano also refused to comment on the home minister's earlier remaks that Pakistan was a "fragile" state, promoting terrorism as "state policy".Chidambaram in his opening remarks at the meeting sounded an alarm over the growing terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. "The vast infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan has for long flourished as an instrument of state policy." Asked if the US would use its its influence on Pakistan to build pressure on that country for the prosecution of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Haafiz Sayeed, who is believed to have masterminded the Mumbai attack, Napolitano again declined to comment."Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton) is in Pakistan today and I leave the comments about Pakistan for her. She will make some comment," she said.
Napolitano, however said the Pakistan-based LeT was as dangerous as Al Qaeda. "The LeT is ranked right up there with Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-related groups as a terrorist organisation, one that seeks to harm people and take innocent lives."

                                                                                   Prof. John Kurakar