The United States has ruled out acceding to either of the two Indian demands --withdrawal of charges against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade, and an apology for alleged mistreatment, after her arrest in New York last week.
The original Al Qaeda, based out of the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, is a shadow of its past in terms of its capabilities to strike against the United States, but many of its affiliates across the globe, in particular the Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, have gained strength and now pose more threat to America, officials said.
The US state department has reportedly given a final nod to Pakistan's request for military hardware
The United States has said it is focused on moving forward its relationship with India and asserted that the legal procedure against diplomat Devyani Khobragade is separate from the diplomatic process.
S Jaishankar, the new Indian ambassador to the United States, on Thursday met top officials of the State Department to convey India's strong protest over the arrest of its senior diplomat in New York over visa fraud charges, even though she had diplomatic immunity.
In a strong retaliation, India on Tuesday initiated a slew of steps to strip US diplomats and their families of privileges including withdrawing all airport passes and stopping import clearances for the US embassy, terming as "barbaric" the arrest and strip searching of India's Deputy Consul General in New York Devyani Khobragade.
Al Qaeda, which has announced the creation of a separate wing for India, wants to portray Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an enemy of Islam and as such India should take its threat "very seriously", a well-known American counter-terror expert said on Friday even as the United States tried to downplay the terrorist outfit's capabilities.
The US has said that it was time to get past the recent tensions with India and the two sides should move on, days after arrest of an American police officer at New Delhi airport for possessing bullets. "We've said we want to get past some of the tensions that have been there over the past several months and move on," state department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said.
The United States has agreed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the arrest of an Indian diplomat has caused hiccups in bilateral ties, but said it is now focused on getting the relationship back on really strong footing.
The United States has increased security at all its major airports and railway stations, and has taken a number of measures, that include temporary closure of its 22 diplomatic missions, following a "very specific" Al Qaeda threat emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who expressed regret over the arrest and strip-search of Devyani Khobragade, was aware of the senior Indian diplomat's arrest.
'The American envoy has not quit over any tension in ties or over any issue related to meeting BJP PM hopeful Narendra Modi.'
'This arrest was totally unnecessary and disproportionate to the gravity of charges. What was truly required was a more measured and calculated approach, keeping in mind the strain such an action could cause to the growing bilateral relationship between these two great nations.' Indian-American organisations condemn Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade's arrest.
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