Kashmir Terror is next target: Envoys

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Terror in Kashmir is next target: Envoys

AGENCIES

NEW DELHI: The British High Commissioner Rob Young and US ambassador

Robert Blackwill on Wednesday indicated that terrorism afflicting

Jammu and Kashmir would be tackled in the next phase of the global

fight against terrorism.

 

"We have to look at a number of phases, the first being to trackdown

and bring to justice the perpetrators of September 11 attack on US,"

Young said after a 30-minute meeting with Home Minister L K advani

here.

 

Asked whether the world community had forgotten cross-border

terrorism facing Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "the next phase will be

much bigger operation and broader exercise to tackle issues of

terrorism worlwide" and sought support from India for this purpose.

 

He said there was "deep determination" in the US, Britain and other

countries that the campaign against terrorism "is not left on side."

 

He said he discussed with Advani "a number of aspects" relating to

the current situation in light of agreement between Prime Minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his British counterpart Tony Blair that the

two governments will work "very very closely to built an effective

international coalition against terrorism."

 

The meeting comes in the wake of Vajpayee's telephonic conversation

with Blair on Monday night.

 

Ending terror networks in Afghanistan top priority: Blackwill

 

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to India Robert Blackwill said on

Wednesday that the United States and India are in agreement that

first task in the global campaign against terrorism is to eliminate

terror networks in Afghanistan.

 

"I believe the United States and India have absolutely no difference

with respect to that objective. And we are concentrating on that

objective. There will be other objectives down the road, a variety of

other objectives because this is a holistic proposition," Blackwill

said.

 

The United States, he said, has not made any request to India for

cooperation on the military front in the context of possible US led

attacks in Afghanistan.

 

"We did not have to ask for India's support (on the diplomatic side)

as it was in the front rows of those countries that immediately

recognised the threat to the international system," Blackwill said.

 

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's security adviser, Brajesh

Mishra, is currently in the United States, holding discussions with

top administration officials on coordinating efforts to fight

terrorism in the aftermath of the attacks on New York and

Washington.