“United States continues to support all efforts to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai and the Pathankot attacks to justice and we can not and will not make distinction between good and bad terrorism”, Kerry said at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. “We agreed that Pakistan needs to take strong action to strike down terror infrastructure, networks and organizations operating on its soil”, Swaraj said.
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Swaraj said she and Kerry had had a “meeting of the minds” on cross-border extremism that India and its neighbors face from militants in Pakistan.
US Secretary of State, John Kerry has made an indirect dig at Modi government by lecturing it on freedom of expression in India.
Kerry named the Haqqani network that operates in Afghanistan as well as the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is blamed for the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008.
Mr Kerry asserted that his country “stands in strong partnership with India” against all terrorism, even as Ms Swaraj said terror from Pakistan and dialogue with Pakistan can not go together, adding that there would be no talks till Pakistan acted against terrorism emanating from its soil.
“We will intensify intelligence-sharing and continue to work closely to get terrorist entities listed by the United Nations system”, Sushma said.
“Terrorism is terrorism”, Kerry said at a press conference on Tuesday alongside Swaraj in New Delhi.
To reach that goal, the participants in the current dialogue need to “think bigger, act bolder”, said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
“Kerry and I discussed at length the issue of terrorism, which is the key challenge to the worldwide community, and the foremost threat to global peace and security”, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a joint press interaction with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker after the conclusion of the Second India-U.S. “They must work with us to help clear sanctuary of bad actors who are affecting not only India- Pakistan relationship but also our ability to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan”, Kerry said.
In the afternoon, Kerry will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official 7, Racecourse Road residence.
Kerry also cited cyber-security and energy as areas where both India and United States could expand cooperation.
Swaraj said she wanted to see closer military cooperation so that India could build more sophisticated hardware at home.
“Clearly it is in India’s interest as it is in Afghanistan’s interest and our interest and Pakistan’s interest, frankly, to have a peaceful and stable Afghanistan that is no longer under siege from the Taliban or from any other group that tries to use its territory to propagate terror”, he said.
“We want to take our expanding defence cooperation to the next stage of co-production and co-development”, Swaraj said.
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“As a result of the reforms, the United States and India trade more with each other, invest more in each other, and do more business together than ever before”, she said.
