WASHINGTON: In a major display of solidarity with India, the United States has equated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) with Al Qaeda, pledging to work with India to disrupt both.

In a joint statement issued simultaneously in Washing­ton and New Delhi, the two nations also urged Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice.

In the same statement, Washington assured New Delhi that “the United States looks forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member”.

The two allies noted that they faced a common threat from terrorism, including in South Asia, and committed to “intensify efforts to combat terrorism”.

They also pledged to work together to end proliferation of WMDs, nuclear terrorism and cross-border crime, and to address the misuse of the Internet for terrorist purposes.

The statement followed the fifth US-India Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi on Thursday. US Secretary of State John F. Kerry and India’s Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the meeting.

“The leaders called for Pakistan to work towards bringing the perpetrators of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks to justice,” said the statement issued after the talks. They also “reiterated their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and reaffirmed their commitment to eliminating terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, and disrupting terrorist networks including Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.”

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd , 2014