New Delhi: Insisting that it had shared
with India terror-related inputs it deemed were "potentially
credible" to its national security, the US on Saturday said it was
looking into media reports that FBI had prior knowledge of
David Coleman Headley`s links with terror groups in Pakistan.
"I can say that it is our policy and practice to share
terrorism-related information promptly with our foreign
partners, when we deem that information potentially credible
and relevant to their national security," US Ambassador to
India Timothy Roemer said in a statement here.
"We do exactly that with partners around the world
every day, including India," he said.
His statement comes in the wake of reports in The
Washington Post and by a non-profit newsroom that US security
officials were aware of Headley`s links with Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba.
"We are looking into published reports about possible
information related to David Headley that goes back before the
Mumbai attacks and how such information may have been
handled," Roemer said, adding that he would be in position to
comment in specific claims made in the media reports only
after "we have determined exactly what transpired".
The American envoy said that the US took it
"counter terrorism cooperation with our Indian partners very
seriously".
"Our respective intelligence and law enforcement
professionals work very closely together on terrorism issues
of mutual concern."
He said the US officials have worked very closely with
their Indian counterparts since the Mumbai attacks to provide
them with information relevant both to that attack and the
subsequent investigation, as well as to potential future
attacks and threats to India`s security.
"The US and India signed a memorandum of understanding
on counter terrorism cooperation in July 2010 that includes
new collaboration areas such as maritime security, forensics
training, megacity policing and a wide range of other
cooperation," Roemer said.
According to Roemer, American authorities had also
provided Indian investigators with access to Headley in US
custody so that they could put questions directly to him.
PTI
