Thaindian News

Pune, May 12 (IANS) Stressing that the US stood “shoulder-to-shoulder” with India in its war against terror, US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer Wednesday visited the German Bakery here and condemned the Feb 13 bombing that killed 17 people and injured 50.

“On behalf of the people of the United States, I extend heartfelt sympathy to the government of India and the victims of the tragic terrorist blast in Pune. The US remains shoulder-to-shoulder with India in the fight against terror and will assist as needed to help bring the perpetrators of this cowardly act to justice,” said Roemer.

Roemer reinforced the commitment to the US-India strategic cooperation, which he described as an “important pillar of our indispensable partnership”.

As part of this cooperation, Roemer said, the US would help India by giving it access to David Headley, the Pakistani-American suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who has admitted his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

“Back then, we never got any direct access to the (9/11) mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. We want to ensure India gets access to Headley,” Roemer said.

Acknowledging Pakistan’s contribution to fighting terror, the US ambassador stressed that Islamabad needed “to do more to deal with the terrorism originating from its soil”.

Roemer also assured that the arms and ammunition provided to Islamabad would be used only for internal purposes. “We will ensure US aid to Pakistan is used in an appropriate manner,” he said.

Roemer also presented certificates to the English language teachers of madrassas and Urdu schools at the Azam Campus run by the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan and Education Society.