US President Barack Obama asks Pakistan to punish Pathankot attack perpetrators

WASHINGTON: Treating Pathankot attack on par with 26/11, US President Barack Obama in a clear message asked Pakistan to punish the perpetrators and vowed to stand with India against terror threats emanating from Pakistan-based groups like JeM, LeT and D-company.

"They (Obama and Modi) called for Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice," a joint statement issued yesterday after the Obama-Modi meeting at the White House said.

During the meeting, Modi and Obama acknowledged the continued threat posed to human civilisation by terrorism and condemned the recent terrorist incidents from Paris to Pathankot, from Brussels to Kabul, the statement said.

"They resolved to redouble their efforts, bilaterally and with other like-minded countries, to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorism anywhere in the world and the infrastructure that supports them," the statement said.

During the meeting, Obama and Modi committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from extremist groups, such as "al-Qaeda, Daesh/ISIL, Jaish-e Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, D Company and their affiliates, including through deepened collaboration on UN terrorist designations."

The two leaders directed their officials to identify specific new areas of collaboration at the next meeting of US-India Counter-terrorism Joint Working Group, the statement said.

"Recognising an important milestone in the US-India counter-terrorism partnership, the leaders applauded the finalisation of an arrangement to facilitate the sharing of terrorist screening information," it said.

Modi and Obama also affirmed their support for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that advances and strengthens the framework for global cooperation and reinforces that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the statement said.

The two leaders had a "very extensive" and "thoughtful" conversation about the rise of extremism and the need for all countries to work together to address this challenge, a senior Obama administration official said.

The two leaders also underlined the need to ensure that the civil society and the minority communities are fully participating in addressing the issue, the official said.