‘Treat militants without differentiation’

India has told the US that terrorists of all shades must be tackled without any differentiation as the Defence Ministers of the two nations discussed threats posed by groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Pakistan-based entities LeT and D Company.

“The issue of terrorism was a key topic discussion. In all engagements, terrorism has become a global phenomenon and requires a comprehensive response,” Defence Minister of India Manohar Parrikar said at a joint press conference with his US counterpart Ashton Carter after their meeting on Friday. “Terrorists of all shades and affiliations must be countered without any differentiation,” he said.

According to the joint statement, the leaders discussed a range of security issues, including the threat posed by IS and entities such as Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company, Haqqani Network and other regional terror groups. 

Carter said terrorism of all kinds in South Asia has been and remains a serious problem. India, he said, has been attacked and is continuously threatened with attack from terrorists.

In the wake of the latest incident of terrorism in the US by a Pakistani-origin couple who gunned down 14 people, Carter said the US had regular conversations with India about the issue. “We have regular conversations with India both about counter-terrorism and about regional security issues,” he said.

“And with respect to India, I’ll just say that counter-terrorism clearly is a key common interest,” Carter said, adding: “We work a lot together on that. And then we have a wide range of geopolitical, strategic and technology areas of cooperation as well. So it’s a very wide-ranging relationship. In today’s world, you can’t leave out terrorism.”

Meanwhile, India ruled out any enhancement of its role in the Middle East in view of the emergence of the deadly IS in Syria and Libya. Parrikar said there has been no change in India’s policy on participating only in UN-approved peacekeeping missions. But India is and has been sharing intelligence with the US on issues related to terrorism, he said.

On Republican leader Donald Trump’s controversial statement to ban all Muslims entering America, Parrikar said: “In India, we gel well” and “don’t look towards communities with suspicion”.