Washington:
India has experienced a lesser number of deaths due to terrorist attacks last year, but still it remains one of the most terrorism-afflicted nations in the world, a US report said. It however added, "The loss of nearly 1,900 lives (civilian, security forces, and terrorists) still made India one of the world's most terrorism-afflicted countries.
The report, which is the annual State Department Country Report on Terrorism for 2010, said that India continued to see a reduction in the number of deaths attributable to terrorist violence, as it ramped up its counter-terrorism capacity building efforts and increased cooperation with the international community, especially the US. It however said, "Sustained violence in Jammu and Kashmir over a six-month period and attempted infiltrations from Pakistan across the Line of Control (LoC) remained serious concerns for the Indian government.
"In May, an Indian court convicted and sentenced to death the lone surviving attacker (Ajmal Kasab) of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks."
The State Department praised Indian authorities for its counter-terrorism efforts and said that Indian security forces had successfully ensured security at a number of major events, including the 2010 Hockey World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, without any untoward incident.
Throughout 2010, Indian authorities arrested numerous suspected militants, uncovered several arms caches, continued to develop a new internal security force, implemented improved border security measures, mainly along its border with Pakistan and tightened its laws to counter terrorist financing.