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Wednesday 20 July 2011

US to ‘hard’ press Pakistan on terror

counter-terrorism was “first and foremost” on the minds after last week’s Mumbai bomb blasts, the US Tuesday pledged “full” support to India’s efforts to protect itself from terror attacks, and said it will press Pakistan as “hard” as it can on terror.
After the second round of Indo-US Strategic Dialogue with her Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointed out that the issue of homeland security and counter-terrorism was given a special emphasis, saying both sides were exploring ways to protect the two countries from the scourge of terrorism.
Asserting that it has been made clear to Pakistan that confronting violent extremism of all sorts is in its interest, Mrs Clinton said: “We do not believe that there are any terrorists who should be given safe haven or a free pass by any government, because left unchecked the consequences of that kind of terrorist activity or intimidation can become very difficult to manage and control.”
At a joint press conference with Krishna, she said in the aftermath of the attacks of 2008 in Mumbai, the US had made it very clear that there was an absolute international responsibility to cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The US has made that equally forcefully clear to Pakistan that it has a special obligation to do so transparently, fully and urgently, Mrs Clinton said.
“And it is US policy, we believe the perpetrators need to be brought to justice and have urged Pakistan to do so. Obviously, there is a limit to what both the US and India can do but we intend to continue to press as hard as possible,” she said.
She was replying to a query about Pakistan failing to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, raising questions on US’ claim of pressurising Pakistan on India-directed terror issue.
Maintaining that the US was encouraged by the discussions between India and Pakistan, Clinton said, “We think this is the most promising approach to encourage both sides to build more confidence between them and work to implement the kinds of steps that will demonstrate the improved atmosphere that is so necessary for us to deal with the underlying problem of terrorism.”
Both Krishna and Hillary also underscored the importance of elimination of terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan for regional stability and security and for Pakistan’s future, according to a joint statement after the meeting.
The US secretary of state said Pakistan was a ‘key ally’ in the fight against terrorism and that the US has made the point repeatedly to its Pakistani colleagues that terrorists threaten both of them. “We recognise that Pakistan must act on its own behalf first and foremost to protect its own territory and sovereignty and to protect the lives of the people of Pakistan,” she said.
She said the US has made it clear that it wants a long-term relationship with Pakistan based on common interests including a mutual recognition that they cannot tolerate a safe haven for terrorists anywhere and when we know the location of terrorists whose intentions are clear and need to work together in order to prevent those terrorists from taking innocent lives and threatening institutions of state.
Pointing out that there was a great deal of cooperation between the US and India with respect to counter-terrorism not only sharing of information but also very clear operational discussions, planning and investigation, she said “...Lot of the terrorist networks that threaten you also threaten us.”
So this is a mutually cooperative and essential operational relationship and in the meantime, the two countries are going to increase our cooperation in this area, she said.
Hillary pushed for nuclear deals and deeper security cooperation with India.
Mrs Clinton is on a three-day trip to India, lobbying for US commercial interests while seeking to balance the delicate relationships Washington maintains with violence-wracked South Asian countries.
She singled out civil nuclear energy as an area where the countries “can and must do more” amid frustrations that private US nuclear energy firms are losing out in India to their state-owned French and Russian competitors.
Despite the diplomatic efforts of Washington to push through the deal, privately run US firms such as Westinghouse and General Electric have been unable to land contracts to build new reactors.
“Many of us worked very hard for that (nuclear) agreement, but we do expect it to be enforceable and actionable in all regards,” Hillary said, voicing frustration that US firms still faced regulatory difficulties.
Krishna meanwhile reminded Mrs Clinton that India, which has spent billions of dollars on aid to Afghanistan, had much to lose by instability in the country as a result of the planned US troop withdrawal.
The United States has announced plans to withdraw 33,000 surge troops by the end of September 2012, with the first 10,000 due to depart this year.
“We have impressed on the United States and other countries who have a major presence in Afghanistan that it is necessary for them to continue in Afghanistan,” Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told a joint press briefing with visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“It is necessary for the United States to factor in Afghanistan’s ground realities so that... Afghanistan will be in a position to defend itself against terrorism sponsored by the Taliban,” Krishna said.

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