India and US Unite to Combat Global Terrorism, Demand UN Action Against Pak-based Terror Groups

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In a joint effort to combat global terrorism, India and the United States have called for additional designations and punitive measures against Pakistan-based terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and affiliates of Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The two countries made this appeal during a meeting of the bilateral joint working group on counter-terrorism and a terrorist designations dialogue in New Delhi on December 3. The call for additional designations under the UN Security Council's 1267 sanctions regime aims to freeze assets, impose travel bans, and impose arms embargos on the terror groups. This move is seen as a significant step towards ensuring that members of these groups face global consequences for their actions. The Indian side expressed gratitude to the US Department of State for designating The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of LeT, as a foreign terrorist organisation and a specially designated global terrorist. The TRF had claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Both India and the US strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam and New Delhi's Red Fort, and emphasized that those responsible for terrorism should be held accountable. They also stressed the need for a sustained and comprehensive approach to combating terrorism. The two countries reiterated their commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation in countering terrorism, including at the UN, Quad, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation against emerging threats and challenges, such as terrorist recruitment, abuse of technology for terrorist purposes, and financing of terrorism. A meeting of the Quad counter-terrorism working group in New Delhi on December 4-5 brought together officials from India, Australia, Japan, and the US. The group called for bringing to justice the perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of the terror incident near the Red Fort and urged all UN member states to cooperate on this matter. The Quad group unequivocally condemned all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, and emphasized the importance of ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains open and free from the threats of terrorism. The Quad partners also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in multilateral forums and exchanging information on terrorists, terrorist organisations, and their proxies. A tabletop exercise on 'counter-terrorism operations in the urban environment' was conducted during the meeting, providing an opportunity for experts to share best practices and identify potential opportunities for joint operational preparedness to respond to complex terrorist scenarios.