|
December 03, 2008 15:45 IST
Republican Senator and former US presidential candidate John McCain [Images] on Wednesday suggested greater cooperation between New Delhi [Images] and Islamabad [Images] to fight terrorism following the Mumbai attacks, which he called the "9/11 of India".
India and Pakistan need to work in close cooperation with each other to find out who were behind it, McCain, a ranking member of the US Senate's Armed Services Committee told a press briefing ahead of his departure after a short visit to Bangladesh.
The influential US Senator said it was pretty clear that the Mumbai operations were very sophisticated and different from the past suicide attacks giving the terror threats a "new dimension" concerning all.
Two other Senators and Armed Services Committee members, Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, accompanied McCain as they held a meeting with Interim government chief Fakhruddin Ahmed besides senior government and military leaders in emergency-ruled Bangladesh, which is set to return to democracy after the planned December 29 general elections.
McCain appreciated the caretaker government and the military leaders for spearheading a reform campaign and preparedness for the transition to democracy but stressed the major political parties to work together for the "peace and progress" setting aside their bitter rivalries.
The delegation toured India and is set to visit Pakistan as part of visit to the region. The foreign relations experts and analysts said their visit was "significant" with regard to US strategic relations with South Asian nations.
The United States has entered into a new strategic relation with India keeping an eye on China and South Asian countries, security think tank, Bangladesh Institute for Peace and Security Studies chief retired Major-General ANM Muniruzzaman told PTI.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
|
| |