New Delhi: Promising to lean “hard” on Pakistan terror, the US on Tuesday asked it not to give “safe havens and free pass” to terrorists even as it pledged support to India in protecting its cities in the backdrop of last week’s Mumbai terror attacks.
This reaffirmation was made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the end of the second annual Indo-US Strategic Dialogue during which she discussed with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna terrorism, nuclear cooperation, situation in Afghanistan and a host of other key issues.
Clinton told a joint press conference that the US has made it clear to the Pakistani Government that “confronting violent extremism of all sorts is in its interest. We do not believe that there are any terrorists who should be given safe havens and free pass by any government.”
At the same time there were limits to what the US and India can do to push Pakistan to bring to justice perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, she said. But “we intend to continue to press as hard as possible,” she said.
On another key issue of Indo-US civil nuclear agreement, Clinton said the US was “fully” committed to the pact with India but asked it to ratify the UN convention on nuclear damages and bring its domestic liability regime in line with international norms.
She also made it very clear that there were “issues” which required to be resolved by the two sides in the civil nuclear field. But she did not go into the specifics.
She also allayed fears that the recent Nuclear Suppliers Group decision to strengthen guidelines on transfer of Enrichment and Reprocessing Technology (ENR) will impact on the Indo-US deal, saying the 46-nation grouping’s move should not be construed as detracting from the “unique impact and importance” of the pact between India and the US.
The leaders also noted that India was committed to ensuring a level-playing field for US companies seeking to enter the Indian nuclear energy sector, consistent with India’s national and international legal obligations, a joint statement said.
They also expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved together towards India’s full membership of the four multilateral export control regimes, including NSG, Australia Group and the Wassennaar Arrangement in a phased manner consistent with the core principles of these regimes, as India takes steps towards the full adoption of the regimes’ export control requirements.
While discussing Afghanistan, which was one of the important part of the parleys, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment for consultation, coordination, and cooperation on it, and to work jointly in that country in capacity building and other areas and agreed to Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and inclusive reconciliation, the statement said.
They reiterated that success in Afghanistan and regional and global security requires elimination of safe havens and infrastructure for terrorism and violent extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Condemning terrorism in all its forms, the two sides asserted that all terrorist networks must be defeated and called for Pakistan to move expeditiously in prosecuting those involved in the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Both Krishna and Clinton also underscored the importance of elimination of terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan for regional stability and security and for Pakistan’s future.
A report in the US-based Defence Systems magazine has found that there were 25 million new strains of malware created in 2009. That equals a new strain of malware every 0.79 seconds. The report underlines how the current cyber threat environment is dramatically changing and becoming more challenging as the clock ticks. (Agencies)