US will continue to press Pakistan on 26/11, says Clinton

Admitting that counter-terrorism was "first and foremost" on its minds after last week's Mumbai bomb blasts, the US on Monday pledged "full" support to India's efforts to protect itself from terror attacks, and said it will press Pakistan as "hard" as it can on terror. Jayanth Jacob reports. Full text of joint statement

India and the US have agreed to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation, with greater emphasis on intelligence and information sharing, operational cooperation, and access to advanced counter-terrorism technologies and equipment.

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However, the logjam between the two over India's nuclear liability law remained unresolved.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said after meeting external affairs minister SM Krishna on Tuesday that Washington would like India's nuclear liability regime to fully conform with international requirements.

She did not elaborate on the issues that need to be addressed.

Clinton and Krishna dwelt at length on counter-terrorism, terrorist threats from across the border and the difficult situation in Afghanistan.

Clinton said at a joint press conference with Krishna that Washington would provide "full support" for India's fight against terrorism.

She also said the US would, along with India, continue to press Pakistan "as hard as possible" to bring the 26/11 attack plotters to justice.

Though Pakistan is a key ally of the US in the fight against terror, Clinton said Washington has made it clear to Islamabad that it will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists anywhere.

"We don't believe there are any terrorists who should be given safe havens by any government, because left unchecked, the consequences of terrorist activity or intimidation can be very difficult to control."

Krishna said, "We resolved to intensify our cooperation. Both sides remain committed to sharing of information on 26/11."