|
Pentagon says US special forces in India; Delhi denies
Saturday March 03, 2012 08:23:07 AM,
IANS
|
|
|
|
|
Washington/New Delhi: The US special forces are based in India and four other South
Asian countries, a Pentagon commander has said. But India promptly
denied it, saying Washington has neither sought nor has India
approved stationing of US Special Forces personnel in the country.
The US and India are working together to contain Pakistan-based
terrorist group Lashkar--Taiba, blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attack.
US has forces in five South Asian nations including India, US
Pacific Commander Admiral Robert Willard told a Congressional
hearing on Thursday.
The teams were deployed to help India in counter-terrorism, in
particular in the maritime domain, Willard said.
"We have currently special forces assist teams - Pacific assist
teams is the term - laid down in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the
Maldives as well as India," Willard said.
"We are working very closely with India with regard to their
counter-terrorism capabilities and in particular on the maritime
domain but also government to government, not necessarily
department of defence but other agencies assisting them in terms
of their internal counter-terror and counterinsurgency
challenges."
The Indian government challenged the statement.
"The US Government has neither sought nor has the Government of
India approved stationing of US Special Forces personnel in any
capacity in India," Syed Akbaruddin, the external affairs ministry
spokesperson, said.
"The two countries occasionally conduct short duration Special
Forces exercises in India and the US in the context of their
counter-terrorism cooperation and capacity building," he added.
The defence ministry said Willard's claim that US special teams
were based in India was "factually incorrect".
"The report is factually incorrect in so far as the reference to
India is concerned," a defence ministry spokesperson said in New
Delhi. "US special forces teams have never been stationed in India
in the past, nor are such teams stationed in the country
presently," he said.
Admiral Willard said Lashkar-e-Taiba was a "very dangerous
organisation... so it is a very important threat, and we're
working very closely with the nations in the region to help
contain it".
The group was "responsible for many attacks in India, including
the horrific attacks into Mumbai" of November 2008 that left 166
Indians and foreigners dead.
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
Govt sponsored report exposes the hell Malegaonians living in
Less scope for living, more for death. TISS reveals all in its Malegaon
Report
More destitute, more illiterate, closer to death,
denied of basic amenities, devoid of adequate health facilities,
without proper banking services
»
Sonia, Azad, Chavan admit there exists Pain in Malegaon
Sans adequate staff, Malegaon Gen Hospital
fails to meet expectations
|
|
|
|
Most Read |
|
 Krishna heads to Egypt, Syria on agenda
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday left
for Egypt on a three-day visit during which he is expected to
forge relations with the new dispensation in North Africa's most
influential country and discuss the Syrian
»
|
|
Cops raid ex-Mumbai Congress chief, family
The
homes and office of former city Congress chief Kripashankar Singh
and his family were raided by Mumbai police's Economic Offences
Wing and Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with
corruption »
Court orders action against Mumbai Congress chief |
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
UP polls almost over, BJP focuses on Karnataka mess
With the
Uttar Pradesh assembly polls ending Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata
Party's (BJP) attention now turns to Karnataka where the party's
maiden rule has been marked more by rebellion and scandals than
good » |
|
Faltering on polio, Pakistan looks at India lesson
Pakistan's battle against polio has been marred by
conflicts, natural disasters and lack of accountability over the
past year and it is now looking at lessons from India, which has
just been taken off the WHO list of polio-endemic » |
|
 Ten years of Gujarat carnage 2002
It was most unfortunate day of 27th
February 2002 when a compartment S6 of Sabarmati Express got or
was burnt down near Godhra station
»
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
presenting a memento to the President of Rotary International
Kalyan Banerjee at the inauguration of the Polio Summit 2012,
in New Delhi on February 25, 2012. Union Minister for Health
and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and Minister of State for
Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandyopadhyay are also seen.
(Photo: Asish
Maitra) |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links