India, US renew counterterror cooperation

New Delhi, Dec 6: India and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to intensifying joint efforts against terrorism after holding the 21st meeting of the India-US Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and the 7th Designations Dialogue on December 3.

The talks were led by Vinod Bahade, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), MEA, and Monica Jacobsen, Senior Bureau Official in the US State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau.

In a joint statement, both sides stressed that counterterror cooperation remains central to the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

“India and the United States unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism,” the statement said.

Delegates also raised alarm over the growing misuse of drones, UAVs and artificial intelligence by terrorist groups.

The two nations jointly condemned the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir and the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort.

“Those responsible must be held fully accountable,” the US side noted during the discussions, according to officials.

India and the US reviewed a broad range of traditional and emerging threats, including terror recruitment, tech-enabled radicalisation and financing networks.

The delegations discussed expanding cooperation through training, cybersecurity collaboration, best-practice exchanges and deeper information sharing at bilateral and multilateral levels. Officials also explored ways to strengthen law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, including smoother information exchange and improved handling of mutual legal assistance requests.

Highlighting the need for sustained global action, both countries renewed their commitment to working closely in the UN, Quad and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

They called for further UN 1267 designations against ISIS and al-Qaida affiliates, as well as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and their proxies.

India welcomed Washington’s recent decision to designate The Resistance Front, a LeT proxy, as both an FTO and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Both sides agreed to hold the next round of the Joint Working Group and Designations Dialogue in the United States at a mutually convenient date.