Will pressure Islamabad to rein in terror, promises Hillary Clinton

NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged full support of her nation to India to combat terrorism and promised to pressure Pakistan to rein in terrorists in the volatile South Asian neighbourhood. Clinton is on a three-day visit to India as part of the second round of India-US strategic dialogue, which took place in New Delhi on Tuesday between Clinton and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna.

"We cannot tolerate safe havens for terrorists. Pakistan must act in its own interest first and foremost," Clinton said, adding that the United States saw Pakistan as a key ally in its fight against terror. She reminded that more people have been killed by terrorists "bombing mosques and marketplaces" in Pakistan than in the US.

Clinton said India and the US were working to expand cooperation in the areas of homeland security and counterterrorism. She said the presence of US director of national intelligence James Clapper in her delegation was testimony to this. Clapper had discussions with a number of Indian officials. "A lot of the terrorist networks that threaten you also threaten us," Clinton said, underscoring the shared interests in counterterrorism.

Responding to a question on whether the US was serious about getting Pakistan to bring perpetrators of the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Clinton said her country has forcefully made it clear to Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attacks that it was an international responsibility to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"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. Her comments come in the wake of deteriorating relations between Pakistan and the US in the aftermath of the US surgical strike in Abbottabad that killed dreaded terrorist and Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Subsequently, the US has cut military aid to Pakistan by nearly a third, representing the worst ebb in bilateral relations in years.

Clinton said the US was encouraged by the dialogue between India and Pakistan and believed that it was the "most promising approach" to build trust between both sides and help in implementing steps that will most effectively deal with the "underlying problem of terrorism".

"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," Clinton said.