US says Babbar Khalsa is threat to its interests

WASHINGTON: The US has named Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa among separatist movements that pose a risk to American interests overseas by conducting assassinations and bombings against economic, political and social targets.

Babbar Khalsa International seeks, through violent means, to establish its own independent state in India and is responsible for significant terrorist attacks in India and elsewhere that have claimed the lives of innocent civilians, according to the Trump administration’s new National Strategy for Counterterrorism unveiled by the White House on Thursday.

The direct reference to Babbar Khalsa, an international terrorist outfit and banned by several countries including the US, Canada and India, assumes significance because its minuscule support base in North America.

In recent months, the Indian government is believed to have raised with the Trump administration the issue of separatist Sikhs using United States as a platform to gain global traction.

In its strategy paper, the White House said there is a broad range of revolutionary, nationalist, and separatist movements overseas whose use of violence and intent to destabilise societies often puts American lives at risk.

WASHINGTON : The United States’ new counterterrorism strategy has listed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-taiba and Tehreek-e-taliban Pakistan among terrorist organisations that could potentially target the country, its interests and personnel.

Unveiling the new strategy on Thursday, National Security Adviser John Bolton expressed willingness to engage with the new government of Imran Khan on Pakistan’s long-standing support for terrorism and move forward on repairing relations.

“We hope with the new government there, that we might be able to turn the page and move forward,” Bolton said when asked if a security aid freeze came up during his meeting with Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who met him earlier in the week. “We certainly talked about the suspension of security assistance and the importance that we placed on Pakistan renewing an effective campaign against terrorists,” Bolton said, but stressed Washington hopes to work with the Khan government, and called his meeting with Qureshi “positive”.

The National Strategy for Counter-terrorism said that besides ISIS and al-qaeda, dozens of radical Islamist terrorist groups are working to advance more locally focused insurgent or terrorist campaigns, while still posing a threat to US persons and interests overseas. “These groups, including Boko Haram, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, and Lashkar-e-taiba, employ a range of political and terrorist tactics to undermine local governments and conduct attacks,” it said.

“Many of these groups are hostile to the United States, maintain networks of sympathisers around the world, and retain ties to ISIS or al-qaeda, underscoring their potential threat to United States interests.”

Both LET and TTP are based in Pakistan. While LET targets India, with known Pakistani acquiescence and encouragement, TTP has tended to focus on Pakistani targets at home.

The US strategy, which Bolton said was different from previous version for its emphasis on targeting the radical ideology behind the menace, counts Islamic State and al-qaeda as the pre-eminent threats to America .

Six Americans were among the 166 victims of the terrorist attack carried out by LET in Mumbai in 2008. David Headley, an American of Pakistani descent, had played a key role in planning the attacks and had confessed to his crimes since, admitting to his LET and al-qaeda links.

The Trump administration punished Pakistan earlier this year by suspending nearly $2 billion in security-related aid over its continued reluctance to act decisively against terrorists operating from its soil.

President Donald Trump had launched a tough new approach towards the one-time ally in 2017, announcing his new South Asia strategy, and had followed that up with a New Year tweet accusing Pakistan of “lies and deceit”.

A reset of ties was first signalled during secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s visit to Islamabad in September.

Bolton made it clear that it was the new US strategy on Pakistan, but stressed the Washington will continue to expect Islamabad to act on combating terrorism.