High-level India-US counter-terror meeting called for blacklisting more groups

The threats of terrorism and ways to counter them came in for sharp focus at two separate high-level meetings held in quick succession in New Delhi between 3 and 5 December.

The first meeting between senior officials of India and the United States was held on 3 December when the two sides called for additional designations of ISIS and al-Qa'ida affiliates, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and their proxy groups, supporters, sponsors, financiers and backers, under the UN 1267 sanctions regime.

The LeT and JeM are Pakistan-based terror groups.

On 4-5 December, counter-terrorism officials of the Quad member countries India, US, Japan and Australia exchanged assessments on the terror threat landscape, including developments in the Indo-Pacific region, and discussed the full spectrum of counterterrorism cooperation and measures that could be used to address existing and emerging challenges.

At the bilateral level, the 21st meeting of the India-USA Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter Terrorism (CT) saw the two sides agreeing on measures to ensure members of terror groups face a global asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, reads a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday (6 December).

Underscoring the growing convergence between India and the US on counterterrorism, the Indian side thanked the US Department of State for designating The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of LeT, as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

The meeting was attended by Vinod Bahade, joint secretary (Counter Terrorism) in the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Monica Jacobsen, Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the US  Department of State heading their respective delegations.

"Both sides unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross border terrorism. They expressed concern over the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs], drones and AI for terrorist purposes," said the statement.

The officials strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April  and the recent alleged terror incident near the Red Fort, New Delhi on 10 November and stressed that those responsible for terrorism should be held accountable.

The two sides reviewed a wide range of traditional and emerging threats and challenges like terrorist recruitment, abuse of technology for terrorist purposes and financing of terrorism.

Both sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation against challenges, including through training, exchange of best practices and information sharing through continued bilateral and multilateral efforts in the field of countering terrorism including in the UN, Quad and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The third Quad Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) meeting also unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms including cross-border terrorism.

They also expressed their condolences for the attack near the Red Fort in Delhi and called for the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the incident to be brought to justice and urged all UN Member States to cooperate in doing so.

The Quad CTWG was established during the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi in March 2023.

During the meeting, a tabletop exercise on "Counter Terrorism Operations in the Urban Environment" was conducted, providing an opportunity for counter-terrorism experts to identify potential opportunities for joint operational preparedness to respond to complex terrorist scenarios.