Rediff On The NeT: India, US, agree to work on prosecution of Flight 814 hijackers

US and Indian officials met in Washington on Tuesday for the first gathering of a joint working group on counter-terrorism and agreed to step up efforts to arrest and prosecute the hijackers of an Indian Airlines jet, the US state department said.

"The two sides agreed to intensify their joint co-operation to ensure that the perpetrators of the hijacking of Flight 814 are brought to justice," spokesman James Rubin said in a statement.

Indian officials have accused arch-rival Pakistan of being behind the incident late last year while the United States has said it believes the hijackers were connected to a group supported by some elements of the government in Islamabad.

Rubin's statement made no mention of the Indian accusations or of the US suspicions but said the vow to increase co-operation was part of a "joint efforts to combat international terrorism."

The hijack ended on New Year's Eve in Afghanistan with the release of the all but one of the passengers and crew -- one passenger was killed during the week-long saga -- after New Delhi agreed to release several Kashmiri militants.

The release of the men drew concern from some, including US officials, who believed it might encourage further hijackings or other terrorist acts and in January, Washington and New Delhi agreed to set up the counter-terrorist working group.

During the meeting, chaired by US coordinator for counterterrorism Michael Sheehan and joint secretary at the Indian foreign ministry Alok Prasad, India agreed to an American offer of antiterrorism assistance programs, Rubin said in the statement.

Specifics of the assistance are to be discussed at later meetings of the working group, he said.

The first meeting resulted in a statement of condemnation of all terrorist acts and an expression of rising concern over the 'growing menace of international terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking.'

"The two sides unequivocally condemned all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable" whatever the explanation for them, Rubin said.

The next meeting of the working group is to be held in India at a time to be determined later, he added.

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