At talks with US, India asks for access to American linked to Mumbai terror attacks

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India wants access to American linked to attacks

WASHINGTON — India made a push Thursday to interview an American citizen linked to the deadly 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, adding a note of tension to high-level talks with the United States.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn’t publicly respond to the request by Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna. She said this week’s inaugural U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue is a chance to address doubts in both countries that are hindering what she calls a crucial global relationship.

A major part of the talks dealt with extremists in Pakistan, both those fighting U.S. troops from havens along the Afghan-Pakistan border and those that India blames for the attacks on its financial capital that left 166 people dead.

Without mentioning the name of the American, Krishna told Clinton during the dialogue’s televised opening ceremonies that giving India access to people the United States apprehended in connection with Mumbai “is perhaps the logical next step.”

Neither the State Department nor the Justice Department would comment on India’s request. The American, David Coleman Headley, has pleaded guilty to scouting Mumbai before the attacks.

The matter could be a sticking point in talks meant to ease Indian fears that relations with the United States have slipped since the Bush administration pushed through a landmark 2008 accord to establish civilian nuclear trade with formerly shunned India. That deal transformed ties after decades of mistrust, but New Delhi has since watched with wariness as Washington has forged deeper bonds with India’s neighboring rivals, China and Pakistan.

To reinforce the U.S. message of reassurance, President Barack Obama planned to visit the State Department later Thursday to speak at a reception for the assembled Indian and U.S. officials.

Clinton said that U.S.-Indian ties are at a pivotal moment and that the trust built this week should lead to results when officials meet next year in New Delhi for the second round of talks.

Clinton called India “an indispensable partner and a trusted friend” and said “a rising India is good for the United States and good for the world.”

But the countries must “directly and candidly” address lingering doubts: “Doubts among some Indians that the United States only sees India, or mainly sees India, in the context of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Clinton said. “Doubts in America that India has not fully embraced its role in regional or global affairs.”

Clinton, appearing at a news conference with Krishna after morning meetings, deflected a question about another sore point in New Delhi: The Obama administration’s reluctance to support India’s push to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. She said only that the United States was “very committed to considering India” for membership.

This week’s meetings saw a small army of high-level Indian and U.S. officials trying to spark deeper cooperation on an already long list of areas in which the countries are working together.

U.S. officials say they have a deep strategic interest in nurturing India’s emergence as a global power and want Indian help on the war in Afghanistan and climate change, education, poverty, counterterrorism, energy, agricultural and trade initiatives.