New Delhi, Dec 8: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that India and the United States have strongly condemned the terror attacks in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 that left 26 tourists dead, and the Delhi blast that claimed 13 lives, during the 21st meeting of the India–US Counter-Terrorism Working Group.
Addressing a press conference, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, said that both sides recognised counter-terrorism cooperation as a key pillar of the India–US comprehensive global strategic partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to working together against terrorism in multilateral forums, including the United Nations, the Quad, the Financial Action Task Force and other platforms.
Briefing the media on the outcomes of the dialogue, Jaiswal said the two countries reviewed ongoing cooperation and discussed ways to strengthen information sharing and operational coordination.
He added that India had issued a comprehensive readout of the meeting and stressed the continuity of the dialogue mechanism, which has been taking place for several years.
Responding to separate questions, the spokesperson addressed multiple geopolitical issues raised during the weekly briefing. On concerns related to Indian travellers transiting through China, Jaiswal said India expected Chinese authorities to ensure that Indian citizens passing through Chinese airports were not “selectively targeted, arbitrarily detained or harassed” and that international air travel regulations were respected.
He advised Indian nationals to exercise discretion while travelling to or transiting through China.
On Pakistan, the spokesperson said India continued to monitor developments in the neighbouring country but declined to elaborate further, remarking that “the less we talk, the better it is” when asked about the state of democracy there.
Jaiswal welcomed the steps taken by the United Kingdom to sanction anti-India extremist entities, saying such actions strengthen global efforts against terrorism, extremism, illicit financial flows and transnational crime networks.
He noted that individuals and organisations involved in anti-India activities posed risks not only to India or the UK but to global security, and said New Delhi looks forward to working closely with London to reinforce ongoing security and counter-terrorism cooperation.
Commenting on Afghanistan, the spokesperson said India had seen reports of border clashes that resulted in the deaths of Afghan civilians. He said India condemned attacks on civilians and reiterated that New Delhi supported the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan.
On India–Russia relations, Jaiswal stated that economic cooperation was a key agenda item during the recent annual summit between the two countries.
He said both sides were focused on diversifying trade, increasing investments and implementing memoranda of understanding adopted during the summit.
These steps, he added, would contribute to shaping the India–Russia economic partnership roadmap for 2030.
Responding to a query on the airline carrier IndiGo, Jaiswal said the matter was under the jurisdiction of the designated ministry and that updates would be provided by the relevant authorities. (KNO)
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