By TN Ashok / Diplomatic Editor
New Delhi, September 24, The following are the highlights of the India US Joint Declaration on Combating Terrorism.
The signatories to the declaration were India’s Minister of External Affairs Ms Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry — the occasion being inaugural India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial Dialogue:
- Reaffirm the commitment of India and the United States to combat terrorism in all its forms, which constitutes a profound threat to global peace and security, and to uphold our common values of democracy, justice, and the rule of law;
- Reaffirm President Obama’s and Prime Minister Modi’s vision to transform the U.S.-India relationship into a defining counter-terrorism partnership for the 21st century;
- Reiterate the threat posed by entities such as Al-Qa’ida and its affiliates, Lashkar-e-Tayibba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company, and the Haqqani Network, and other regional groups that seek to undermine stability in South Asia;
- Call for Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack;
- Strongly condemn the July 27, 2015 terrorist attack in Gurdaspur, Punjab, and August 5, 2015, attack in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir;
- Recognize the serious threat posed by ISIL/Da’esh to global security and affirm efforts to degrade and defeat this threat in accordance with the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2178,2170, and 2199;
- Recall the signing of the U.S.-India Counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative (CCI) and establishment of the Homeland Security Dialogue in 2010.