India and US move closer on terrorism -BBC reports
(Thursday, September 16, 1999 Published at 14:17 GMT 15:17 UK)
The US co-ordinator for counter terrorism, Michael Sheehan, is due in Delhi for talks with Indian government officials on countering threats from militant groups.
Observers say the visit - on Friday and Saturday - indicates a growing closeness between the two countries on the threat of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan at a time when Indo-US ties are said to have improved considerably.
Mr Sheehan's visit follows talks in Washington earlier this month between senior Indian foreign ministry officials and the US State Department.
After the talks, India's joint secretary for Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Vivek Katju, said the two sides had found a fair amount of common ground, "particularly on all aspects of terrorism."
Main thrust
India's Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is expected to make terrorism the main thrust of his address at next week's UN General Assembly session in New York, during which he will meet US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
According to press reports in Delhi, India is expected to ratify a range of conventions and protocols relating to various acts of terrorism.
The move should pave the way for the General Assembly's legal committee to get to work on a comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism tabled by India.
Diplomatic offensive
The talks on Friday and Saturday, and Mr Singh's visit to the UN are seen as part of India's intensifying efforts to forge a regional diplomatic offensive against international terrorism.
Mr Singh issued a call for support earlier this week in an address to the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, held in the Kazakh capital, Almaty.
He said the region was home to many terrorist groups and movements who recognise no frontiers, and asked whether countries could not "work collectively to counter the growing threat of cross-border terrorism".
India's prime concern is the spread of Islamic militancy from neighbouring Pakistan and from Afghanistan.
India claims that Pakistan and Afghan mercenaries are fighting alongside Muslim separatists in Kashmir, and also accuses Islamabad of sponsoring the decade-old insurgency in the Himalayan state.
Pakistan denies the charges. |
