- Atlanta - Boston - Chicago - DC Area - Houston - Jersey Area - Los Angeles - New York - SF Bay Area
- Earlier editions
- Astrology - Cricket - Money - Movies - Women - India News
- Rediff Chat - Rediff Bol - Rediff Mail - Home Pages
Aziz Haniffa in Washington
United States officials have assured National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra that its war against terrorism would not ignore the terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir and that the US would not spare any terrorist group or the countries harbouring them.
At the same time, they made it very clear that their immediate priority was to hunt down Saudi renegade Osama bin Laden.
On Tuesday, Mishra rounded off two days of talks with senior Bush administration officials and congressional leaders.
It was learnt that though Mishra had not brought up India's continuing concerns over cross-border terrorism in Kashmir in his discussions, he had pointed out that going after international terrorism should not be a 'one-shot deal'.
He was assured that there would be absolutely no change in the course of Washington's burgeoning relations with New Delhi, despite the recent increase in ties between the United States and Pakistan in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon.
The officials expressed Washington's appreciation of India's offer of support in the wake of the attacks and noted that New Delhi would remain a significant player in any US-led coalition to combat international terrorism.
On Monday, Mishra had met with his counterpart Condoleezza Rice at the White House and Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz at the Pentagon, during which Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also dropped by to engage in the discussions.
He then travelled to Capitol Hill to meet Senator Sam Brownback (Kansas Republican), Congressman Henry Hyde (Illinois Republican), Tom Lantos (California Democrat) and Benjamin Gilman (New York Republican).
Brownback is an influential member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the author of the Brownback Amendment that provided the president with the authority to waive sanctions against India and Pakistan imposed after their nuclear tests in May 1998.
Hyde is the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Lantos is the ranking Democrat on the panel, and Gilman chairs the International Relations Subcommittee.
On Tuesday, Mishra met Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and a coalition of Jewish groups, who called on him at the Indian embassy.
One source, who was in on several of the meetings, noted: "We affirmed that our support for India is unflinching."
The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage
EXTERNAL LINK For Further Coverage and Information, you may visit www.saja.org/roundup
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
