India to receive USD 4.5 mn US assistance to fight terrorism

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 15 (PTI) With India requesting for
higher-level training from the United States in the wake of
26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Obama Administration has asked the
Congress to double its anti-terrorism budget to India to USD
4.5 million for the fiscal 2011.
Testifying before a Congressional committee,
Coordinator for Counter-terrorism in the Department of States
Daniel Benjamin on Wednesday said such a decision by the Obama
Administration follows a request from India in the aftermath
of the Mumbai-terrorist attack that killed more than 166
people, six of whom were Americans.
"Under our FY 2011 request, India's ATA bilateral
budget would almost double, to USD 4.5 million, to meet the
increasing political will on the part of the Indian
government, which has requested more and higher-level training
in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack," Benjamin said.
Anti-terrorism assistance or ATA continues to be US's
flagship counter-terrorism law enforcement capacity-building
programme, and its partner nations have registered several
concrete successes over the last year, he said.
Benjamin said the Obama Administration's request for
Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) is USD 1.2
billion for the fiscal 2011; which will be the first year the
Department of State assumes full management of this fund.
Funds will continue to be targeted at building the
capability of Pakistan's security forces directly engaged in
counter-insurgency efforts in contested areas throughout the
northwest frontier province and the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas, he said.
"A more capable Pakistani military will diminish
extremist access to safe havens from which attacks on Pakistan
and on US international forces operating in Afghanistan are
planned and executed," he said, adding a better trained and
equipped Pakistani security force will facilitate efforts to
execute its USD 7.5 billion five-year US civilian assistance
strategy, which includes efforts to improve basic government
services in areas vulnerable to extremists.
The official said a major difference in the management
of PCCF in the FY 2011 will be the increased State Department
oversight and involvement throughout the execution process,
which will ensure that this major assistance programme aligns
with US's broader policy objectives and complements its other
foreign assistance programs in Pakistan and the broader
region.
"We are actively working to ensure that the transition
of PCCF management from the Defence Department to the State
Department is a smooth one," he said. PTI LKJ
SKT