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Haley: Us Won’t Tolerate Pakistan Harbouring Terror


Date:- 29 Jun 2018


Backing India on its security concerns with regard to Pakistan, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, on Thursday said the Trump administration has firmly told Pakistan that it cannot tolerate its Government providing a safe haven to terrorists.

Speaking at an Observer Research Foundation event, Haley said neither India nor the US can afford to turn a blind eye to the regimes that produce, harbour, and support terrorists, and in this context, the US is treating Pakistan differently than in the past.

Haley asserted that Washington and New Delhi must become global leaders in the fight against terrorism.

Noting that the US and India have experienced the pain of terrorism, she said both the countries share a commitment of defeating terrorists and the hate ideology that motivates them.

“We share an urgent interest in eliminating the terrorist networks that threaten us, and to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists and their sponsors. Both our nations lost citizens in the horrific Mumbai attacks a decade ago. As fellow democracies, the United States and India must be global leaders in the fight against terrorism,” Haley said.

She said though in many instances Pakistan had been a partner of the US, but it cannot tolerate the Pakistani Government, or any other Government, giving a safe haven to terrorists.

“We won’t tolerate it. We are communicating this message to Pakistan more strongly than in the past and we hope to see changes,” the envoy added. According to her, India and the US have expanded their counter-terrorism cooperation in the past decade but there is still scope to do more.

“We can and we must do more. We must use all of the elements of our national power -- economic, diplomatic and military to protect ourselves. This includes working together at the UN to designate terrorist leaders and networks,” she said.

Haley is on a two-day visit to India during which she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Incidentally, shortly after her arrival, the US announced cancelling of inaugural 2+2 dialogue between the two countries for which Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were supposed to travel to the US.

“Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo spoke last night with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to convey his regret for having to postpone the 2+2 dialogue, which had been scheduled for July 6. This scheduling change was prompted by reasons entirely unrelated to the bilateral relationship. Secretary Pompeo and Minister Swaraj agreed to reschedule the 2+2 dialogue as soon as possible. The US-India partnership is a major strategic priority for the Trump Administration. ?The United States remains firmly committed to a strong relationship with India,” the US State Department said in a statement.

It is believed that the US is pressuring India to join it in sanctions on Iran which India is non-committal. Though the Indian Government has not made any statement on this so far, media reports claimed that the Petroleum Ministry has told refiners to look for alternatives to Iranian oil and be prepared for any eventuality.

Following the US sanctions on import of oil from Iran, the Indian Government said it will take steps to ensure energy security is not hampered. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the statement by the Donald Trump administration over oil import from Iran was not India-specific and applies to all countries.

“We have seen the statement made by the State Department official on this matter. The statement was not India specific and applies to all countries. India will take all necessary steps, including engagement with relevant stakeholders to ensure our energy security,” he said.

The statement by the US State Department talks about reducing import of oil from Iran to zero by November 4 and there is no talk of snapping ties in that. Sources said that the Indian Government was yet to firm up its position on the issue and deliberations by several countries were going on over the US sanctions.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Friday, 29 June 2018 | PNS | New Delhi