Afghanistan discussed during India-UK counter-terrorism meet

The issues were discussed during the 15th meeting of the India-United Kingdom Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism held in London on 4-5 April.

New Delhi:India and the United Kingdom have discussed a range of counter-terrorism challenges including the developing situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover as well as the use of the internet for carrying out terrorist activities.

The issues were deliberated during the 15th meeting of the India-United Kingdom Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism held in London on 4-5 April. Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Chloe Squires, Director General, Homeland Security, Government of United Kingdom led the respective delegations to discuss the ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries.

The United Kingdom and India, according to an official MEA release on Wednesday, strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations emphasising the need for strengthening international cooperation to comprehensively combat the global threat of terrorism. Both countries exchanged perspectives across a range of counter-terrorism challenges including the developing situation in Afghanistan, countering radicalisation and violent extremism, combating the financing of terrorism, preventing exploitation of the internet for terrorism, law enforcement cooperation, information sharing, and aviation and maritime security.

The two sides shared their assessment of the terrorist and extremist threats in their respective territories and regions including threats posed by globally sanctioned terrorist entities and individuals. They emphasized the need for taking concerted action against all terrorist networks, transnational terrorist groups and the importance of perpetrators of terrorist attacks being systematically and expeditiously brought to justice.

The two sides also exchanged views on the proscription of terrorist individuals and entities as a tool to combat terrorism, as well as ways of working together in multilateral forums. It was agreed to further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation to meet these shared challenges. The 16th UK and India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism will be held in India in 2023.