The United States and India agreed Sunday to step up cooperation to prevent the financing of violent extremist movements linked to Pakistan, officials said. In annual talks between top economic officials, India and the United States spoke of "expanding cooperation on countering illicit financing, including targeting the financial networks and fund-raising activities of terrorist organisations," Indian Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said.
Mayaram said in a statement that efforts would target groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and the affiliated Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which investigators blame for the grisly 2008 siege of Mumbai that killed 166 people.
The statement did not provide more details on how the two sides would expand cooperation. India has been seeking to pressure the group which operates virtually in the open in Pakistan.
Mayaram also mentioned action against another Pakistan-linked movement, the Haqqani network. The group, blamed for attacks on the Indian embassy and US forces in Afghanistan, was designated last year as a terrorist group by the United States.