‘LeT poses threat to U.S., India, AfPak’

Asserting that Lashkar-e-Taiba is a threat not only to India and America but also to Afghanistan and Pakistan, a top Obama Administration official said counter-terrorism is the central pillar of U.S.’ strategic dialogues with all these countries.

“It (LeT) is a threat to our citizens. It’s a threat to Indian citizens. Next door, it’s a threat to Pakistani citizens. And next door, it’s a threat to Afghan citizens,” Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P.J. Crowley, told reporters at his daily press briefing.

“We have stepped up our cooperation with all of these countries. Together we are trying to reduce threat of violent extremism that threatens all of us and our respective citizens. It is a work in progress,” Mr. Crowley said when asked about the threat posed by LeT.

Terming it “tragic”, the Obama Administration official said “for each of these countries, counter-terrorism is a central pillar of our ongoing strategic dialogue and something that we will continue to work. Collectively to see if we can’t reduce the threat to our citizens.”

Of late, LeT was increasingly being considered as a threat to the United States as the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit was quietly expanding its reach in the U.S. and Europe.

“Right now our concern is the movement of Lashkar-e-Taiba — the terrorist group that emanates from Pakistan that was responsible for the Mumbai attacks in India — and specifically their positioning in Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka,” Admiral Robert Willard, Commander of the US Pacific Command had said in his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently.

“We are working very closely with the Indians and we’re working within our own community to develop the necessary plans to counter that particular terror group as they migrate into the Asia-Pacific region,” he told legislators.