United States President Barack Obama on Friday promised to take up with the issue of continued Pakistan-based terror against India with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as Indian PM Manmohan Singh told him that progress in dialogue will depend on action on this front.
According to the Indian media, the promise was conveyed to Singh during a summit meeting when he referred to the recent attacks in Jammu and highlighted how terror emanating from Pakistan affected India “every waking hour”.
Sources said the US shared India’s concern over the threat posed by the Lashkare Tayaba (LeT) to India and the entire region and the world after Singh told him that the LeT and Jamatud Dawa (JuD) got “handsome financial support” from the Punjab government in Pakistan.
Singh and Obama, who held discussions for about three hours, talked about terrorism in context of the Afghanistan situation, with the US president saying that the “major wild card” in this regard is Pakistan.
According to sources, both leaders felt the need for enhancing cooperation against terrorism.
Obama expressed sympathies for the loss of life in the Jammu terrorist attacks on an army camp and a police station in Samba in which 10 people, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed and appreciated Singh’s wisdom in the context of taking forward the dialogue process with Pakistan.
Singh said India faces many challenges and that the safe havens and terror sanctuaries in Pakistan needed to be dealt with effectively for ensuring security and also for the prospect of any progress with dialogue.
Singh alleged that Pakistan-based terrorism also affected Afghanistan and “the region stands to gain if these issues are addressed”.
During the meeting, Obama questioned whether the Pakistan Army had done “strategic re-assessment” and said that instead of focusing on India, Pakistan should focus on energy and trade issues.
