Security threats from Pak have not diminished: Chidambaram

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Sept 11 (PTI) Security threats to India
from militant groups operating from Pakistani soil have not
diminished, India's Home Minister P Chidambaram said Friday.

He also said that there has been an increase in
infiltration from the Pakistani side in the last four months.

New Delhi's concerns were conveyed by him during
meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top
security officials of the Obama Administration.

Wrapping up his four-day US visit, Chidambaram told
reporters here that he was going back to India with a "lot of
ideas". One of these was establishing something on the lines
of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre of the US.

Set up in 2004 under a US Presidential executive
order, the Centre staffed with over 500 personnel drawn from
16 departments and agencies spearheads US efforts to combat
terrorism at home and abroad by analysing threat perceptions
and sharing information with friendly countries.

Besides Clinton, Chidambaram met National Security
Adviser James Jones, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and US Attorney General
Eric H Holder Jr Early.

Chidambaram said he had briefed the US officials about
Pakistan not prosecuting perpetrators of the Mumbai terror
attacks, including the mastermind Hafiz Mohammad Saeed,
founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba, who was roaming free in that
country despite evidence provided by India.

"I think, the US understands the difference between
the way India's approach to post 26-11 situation and the way
Pakistan approached post-26/11 situation. It is enough to draw
attention to the difference and leave it there," Chidambaram
said when asked if the US was exerting enough pressure on
Pakistan to take action against terrorists targeting India
from its soil.

To a question if he had sought US assistance to ensure
that Pakistan takes action against perpetrators of the Mumbai
attacks, the Home Minister said he had not asked specifically
to "push for this and to push for that".

"I did brief them on the State of the trial of Ajmal
Kasab (the lone surviving Mumbai attack terrorist) in India
and I also did mention about no progress in Pakistan in
respect of the five or six people they have arrested. And
Hafeez Sayeed (LeT founder) remains a free man. I think that
is enough. They know to draw the lessons from that statement,"
he said.

On the issue of infiltration from Pakistan, he said,
"We make estimates based upon human intelligence and
technical intelligence. The numbers are now rising at about 50
to 60 a month. And the number of people we apprehend is also
very high. So, our assessment is that the level of
infiltration has increased since the month of May, 2009".

The Obama Administration has come out in support of
India's stand that progress is needed first on bringing to
justice perpetrators of Mumbai attacks before resumption of
the composite dialogue process. PTI LKJ
PMR