USA secretary of state John Kerry said on Wednesday Pakistan has to do more to eliminate sanctuaries of terrorism on its soil and push harder against indigenous groups engaged in terrorist activities.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses students at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. “And we have to work hard to understand the different variations of the causes because it does vary country to country, location to location even though they are constants in those causes”, he added. I have been working on this issue very hard.
“The sides called on Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice”, the joint statement said.
When asked about the candidacy of Donald Trump and the fear of polarisation in the run-up to U.S. elections, Kerry said he would rely on the good judgement of the Americans.
Attacks by the Taliban on Afghan territory from across the border in Pakistan would also come up for discussion, he said. “We both agreed that nations must not maintain double standards, such as the categorization of good and bad terrorists, nor must they act as safe havens”, she said.
Kerry, who was to leave on Wednesday, has postponed his departure, state department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said. During the talks, India had sought US’ assurance to support its membership at the UN Security Council. “Fifty thousand people have been killed”, he said. In a sign that the U.S. maintains its support for India’s NSG bid, the two sides added in the statement, “In further effort to strengthen global non-proliferation and export controls, the sides committed to redouble their efforts towards India’s early entry into the NSG”. Kerry is on a three-day visit to India.
Obama “really values the US-Indian relationship both for its own sake and because he sees a clear role [India can play] in Asia in the future”, says Ashley Tellis, a senior associate specializing in Asian security issues at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. He said the US and India are witnessing a defining moment in their relationship.
At the same time, he chose the platform to send out a strong message to China asking it to abide by an global tribunal’s decision on claims to some reefs and atolls in the South China Sea, citing India as an example.
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Earlier, Swaraj said she hoped the next USA president would continue the dialogue that also seeks input from companies, which this year included e-commerce giant Amazon and wireless technology firm Qualcomm.
