India to seek US help to stop fake Indian currency notes from Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Home minister Rajnath Singh is likely to seek Washington’s intervention in identifying and shutting down units in Pakistan engaged in printing and circulating fake Indian currency notes, during his first visit to United States later this month. He is likely to give evidence pointing to the involvement of state actors in the crime.

Singh is slated to visit US from July 20-25 for the Indo-US homeland security dialogue where he will hold consultation with his US counterpart Jeh Charles Johnson on wide range of issues. The focus, officials said, will be on “illicit financing” besides cooperation on security matters, capacity building in cyber-security, critical infrastructure protection and mega cities project.

According to details accessed by ET, New Delhi is also likely to seek Washington’s assistance in identifying and seizures of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s properties in UAE and United Kingdom. Indian agencies have drawn a list of ‘hawala’ operators that will be exchanged between the two countries including the list of hawala dealers in west Asia.

Backed with evidence of financing by Jaish-e-Mohammad, Al-Rahmat trust for January’s Pathankot attack, India may propose to US for setting up a joint mechanism to examine the use of ‘trust funds’ and ‘narco money’ for terror financing.

New Delhi is also expected to ask US to use its clout with Pakistan for mounting pressure on Islamabad to freeze assets of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the parent body of Lashkare-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, said officials on condition of anonymity.

India and the US recently inked two key agreements on the Global Entry Programme (GEP) and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-6 (HSPD-6). While HSPD-6 will enable sharing of terror-related information, GEP would exempt prominent citizens from immigration checks, explained a senior home ministry official. Initially, the names of around 1,500 prominent Indians could figure in the coveted list that will be expanded.