2+2 dialogue: US wants India to join group to check Islamic State funding

The US homeland security officials and their Indian counterparts have worked on a draft plan related to six areas, including anti-terror cooperation in intelligence sharing, terror financing and cyber security, that will be shared during the September 6 dialogue, said officials.

Islamic state, ISUS, ISIS funding, terrorist recruitment, India Us fight against terror, terrorism, ISIS Finance Group, terror funding, Indian express

While no major attack with direct involvement of Islamic State (IS) has been reported in India so far, the terror outfit has managed to recruit dozens of youths using online propaganda.

Ahead of the first ‘2+2’ dialogue between India and the US, Washington is learnt to have suggested that New Delhi should be a part of the Counter ISIS Finance Group (CIFG), a broad international group formed to “degrade” and “defeat” ISIS. With US, Italy, and Saudi Arabia as co-chair, the group was established in January 2015, and has 49 member states, including Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Iraq and China as observers.

The US homeland security officials and their Indian counterparts have worked on a draft plan related to six areas, including anti-terror cooperation in intelligence sharing, terror financing and cyber security, that will be shared during the September 6 dialogue, said officials. CIFG, the global coalition to prevent Islamic State’s use of the international financial system, has been holding discussions with member states and intergovernmental bodies like Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since 2015.

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While no major attack with direct involvement of Islamic State (IS) has been reported in India so far, the terror outfit has managed to recruit dozens of youths using online propaganda, officials claimed. In a written reply in Parliament, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Ahir, had stated on March 15, 2017, “The National Investigation Agency and state police have registered cases to investigate the alleged links of individuals with ISIS and 75 individuals have so far been arrested.”

North Block officials maintained that the group has no physical infrastructure in India and has managed to influence a very small section of youth. “Our intelligence and investigating agencies have managed to counter financing of these small modules. We have been sharing our findings with various foreign agencies and have participated in various FATF deliberations on terror financing. Islamic State and all its manifestations have been banned in India under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” a senior home ministry official added.

Earlier, Indian security agencies had expressed reservations over being a part of US’s Terrorist Screening Centre (TSC), a multi-agency organisation administered by FBI which consolidates several terrorist watchlists maintained by US government agencies into a single database on terror suspects. However, discussions are being held to further allay concerns. The Intelligence Bureau is the nodal agency for the pact for TSC.

The CIFG charter includes denying ISIL funding from abroad, including from external donors, foreign terrorist fighters, kidnapping for ransom and preventing ISIL from providing financial or material support to foreign affiliates in an effort to expand its global ambitions, among others. The discussion over CIFG follows a meeting between an Indian delegation led by Additional Secretary in Home Ministry Rajni Sekhri Sibal and her US counterpart, Deputy Under Secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, James McCament.

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The maiden 2+2 dialogue between India and the US is scheduled to be held in Delhi on Thursday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will be meeting their Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, to discuss enhancing America’s engagement with India on critical diplomatic and security priorities.

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