India, US 'agree' Pakistan must undo terror safe havens

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI, India (AA) - External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday that the visiting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson agreed with India’s stance that Pakistan should take immediate steps to dismantle safe havens for terrorist groups on its territory.

Tillerson, who arrived in capital New Delhi Tuesday night, is on official 3-day visit to the country following his visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In a statement made alongside Tillerson following their meeting, Swaraj said: “Secretary Tillerson and I agreed that we will have to work closely to ensure that no country provides safe havens for terrorists; and those countries which provide support to terrorists or use terrorism are held accountable.

“We agreed that Pakistan should take immediate steps to dismantle safe havens which have been established there for terrorist groups. We believe that effective action by Pakistan against all terrorist groups without distinction is critical to the success of the new strategy of President [Donald] Trump.”

The U.S. secretary of state told reporters: “Terrorist safe havens will not be tolerated,” according to local media outlet Aaj Tak.

The U.S. wants to work with Pakistan in a positive way since we think this is in their interest in the long term, he said.

He was also quoted as saying that terrorists could threaten the stability of the Pakistani government.

He added India and the U.S. were “natural allies” and they stand "shoulder-to-shoulder against terror".

- India-U.S.-Afghanistan meeting

About the situation in Afghanistan, Swaraj said: “India is committed to working closely with the government of Afghanistan and the international community, including the U.S., towards securing a democratic, peaceful, prosperous, stable, inclusive and secure Afghanistan.

“We have also agreed to hold India-U.S.-Afghanistan trilateral meeting at an early date,” according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.

Later, Tillerson met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Both sides affirmed that a strengthened India-U.S. partnership is not just of mutual benefit, but had significant positive impact on the prospects for regional and global stability and prosperity.

In the context of President Donald Trump’s new South Asia Policy, Modi “noted the commonality in the objectives of eradicating terrorism, terrorist infrastructure, safe havens, and support, while bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan.

"In this regard, Secretary Tillerson exchanged views on his recent travels in the region with prime minister. They further discussed stepping up effective cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms and promoting regional stability and security,” according to a statement from the External Affairs Ministry.

Earlier Wednesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said that the proposed Afghan reconciliation process could not be successful unless the four major regional stakeholders -- Turkey, China, Russia, and Iran -- were taken onboard.

“Participation of these four countries [in reconciliation process] is absolutely indispensable,” Khawaja said Wednesday while briefing Pakistani Senate on Tillerson’s visit.

- Pakistan downplays Trump policy

“We have made this clear to Mr. Tillerson that Pakistan has already done a lot regarding elimination of terrorism. We have also told him that Pakistan does not want any aid from the U.S.,” he added.

Khawaja further said his country’s influence over Afghan Taliban had diminished after certain acts of the U.S.

“We had brought Taliban to the table [in 2015], you [U.S. and Afghanistan] leaked the news regarding death of Mullah Omer, which damaged the process.

“We again brought them to negotiations [in 2016], and you killed Mullah Mansur. Now tell us, how could we bring them back to the table,” he said.

Downplaying Trump’s new South Asia policy, Khawaja said Islamabad would treat “carefully” vis-a-vis relations with America, but it would not be cowed down by any threat.

Meanwhile, India also told the U.S. top diplomat it plans to retain its North Korean embassy in order to keep channels of communication open.

Swaraj also raised the issue of H1B work visas for Indian workers during the meeting.

India is one of the biggest market for the U.S. Bilateral trade between the countries stand at around $115 billion, which they plan to increase to $500 billion by 2022.

*Aamir Latif contributed to this story from Karachi, Pakistan.