NEW DELHI: US President Barack Obama has urged Pakistan to show it is ‘serious’ about crushing extremist networks operating on its territory, saying the latest mass killing of students underlined the need for more decisive action.
In an interview with the Press Trust of India published on Sunday, Obama said the crackdown on extremists was ‘the right policy’ but was quoted as saying that Pakistan ‘can and must’ take more effective action.
The US president praised recent crackdowns by security forces but said more should be done to eradicate violent groups.
“Pakistan has an opportunity to show that it is serious about delegitimising, disrupting and dismantling terrorist networks,” Obama told the news agency in Washington.
“In the region and around the world, there must be zero tolerance for safe havens and terrorists must be brought to justice.”
Twenty-one people were killed last Wednesday in an attack at a university campus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda town, which was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, barely a year after a massacre at the Army Public School in Peshawar that killed 144 people.
A military offensive against extremists in tribal areas was intensified after the Peshawar attack. “Since then (Peshawar), we have seen Pakistan take action against several specific groups,” said Obama. “We have also seen continued terrorism inside Pakistan such as the recent attack on the university in northwest Pakistan.”
Describing the terror attack in Pathankot as ‘another example of the inexcusable terrorism that India has endured for too long’, Obama gave credit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reaching out to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after the attack.
“Both leaders are advancing a dialogue on how to confront violent extremism and terrorism across the region,” he said.
In a clear signal to China, Obama said all countries should play by the same rules in international law including freedom of navigation in the South China Sea while India can be an anchor of stability in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
He also said India and US will continue to expand their military exercises and maritime cooperation so that the two forces become ‘interoperable’.
Obama said during his visit to India last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he agreed to a new joint vision for the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region. “It’s rooted in our shared interests in a region that’s peaceful and prosperous and where all countries play by the same rules, in accordance with international law and norms, including freedom of navigation,” Obama said.
Obama said the US recognises that the Indian Ocean is vital to the security of the region and the global economy. “Our vision recognises that the Indian Ocean is vital to the security of the region and the global economy. And it welcomes India’s determination to ‘Act East’ with stronger security and economic partnerships across the region,” he said.
DAILY TIMES.
YEMI
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