US Pacific Command chief Admiral Robert Willard said that the LeT's "centre of gravity" was in Pakistan, though it was networked worldwide.
The US today said the reported link between Pakistan's ISI and terror groups "need to be addressed" even though its and the civilian government's ability to counter the "global" threat of LeT was critical in the fight against extremists.
US Pacific Command chief Admiral Robert Willard told reporters here that LeT's "centre of gravity" was in Pakistan, though it was networked worldwide and had been found to have links with terror groups in Europe and US.
"When we talk of LeT and long-term defeat of this extremist network, we have to consider the centre of gravity of this particular terror group is in Pakistan. So I think the ability of the government of Pakistan and its agencies to assist the region in countering terror is the most important factor," Willard said at the end of his two-day visit to India.
He said Pakistan had in the past several years declared the "disassociation" between the ISI and terror factions, but it was "a subject of discussion" with the US, as also with India, on a regular basis.
"It remains an issue that must be addressed," he said, to a question on the reported ISI links with terror outfits in the region.
"LeT is now a global issue for all the nations. They are certainly embedded in Europe. There are elements identified in US. This global extremist network...they are extending their abilities well beyond South Asia although they remain centered here for many historical reasons or otherwise," he said, noting that Pacific Command's effort in teaming with India and surrounding nations was in this context.
"It is not lost on us on how extensive LeT's network has become. The US has often talked about focusing on al Qaeda and its affiliates and LeT is one of its affiliates. So we have a broad interest in this particular terror group. We find it to be networked in a very dangerous way," he said, adding that the US had been reevaluating the extremist threats globally on a very regular basis.
Willard said US and India shared a common interest in "quelling terror" in the region and the Pacific Command had committed itself in seeing "LeT contained and ultimately defeated" both in India's and global interest.
He also said the two countries shared interest in "global commons", particularly cyber space and outer space and defending both those domains.
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