Pakistan-Based Terrorists Groups will Continue Attacks on India: US Intelligence Chief

America's intelligence chief has warned that Pakistan-supported terrorist groups would continue to carry out attacks inside India and escalate tension between the two neighbours.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats' told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 13 February (Tuesday) that Pakistan will continue to threaten US interests by deploying new nuclear weapons capabilities, maintaining its ties to terrorists, restricting counter- terrorism cooperation, and drawing closer to China, reported Press Trust of India.

Coats’ remarks come days after a group of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists struck the Sunjuwan Military Camp in Jammu on Saturday, killing seven people including six soldiers.

"Militant groups supported by Islamabad will continue to take advantage of their safe haven in Pakistan to plan and conduct attacks in India and Afghanistan, including against US interests," Coats said during the hearing on 'Worldwide Threat Assessment' of the US intelligence community.

He said Pakistan's perception of its eroding position relative to India, reinforced by endemic economic weakness and domestic security issues, almost certainly will exacerbate long-held fears of isolation and drive Islamabad's pursuit of actions that run counter to US goals for the region.

Without specifically referring to any terrorist incident by Pakistan-based groups, Coats told the lawmakers that he expects tension between the two Asian neighbours to continue.

"Relations between India and Pakistan are likely to remain tense, with continued violence on the Line of Control and the risk of escalation if there is another high-profile terrorist attack in India or an uptick in violence on the Line of Control," Coats told the committee.