U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, have urged Pakistan to do more to eliminate “terrorist sanctuaries” on its territory, as the two countries ended another round of a strategic dialogue.
Clinton, who also met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said Tuesday the U.S. and India are united in fighting terrorism and that Washington sees Pakistan as a key ally in that fight. But she also agreed with Krishna that Pakistan must eliminate terrorist safe-havens for its own interests and those of the region.
Secretary Clinton said the importance of confronting extremists became even more clear after last week's triple bombings in India's financial hub, Mumbai, which killed 20 people and wounded more than 130 others.
The top U.S. diplomat said Washington welcomed recent efforts by India and Pakistan to renew talks that had stalled after the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai by Pakistani-based militants that killed 166 people. Clinton added that the dialogue is the “most promising” approach for building confidence between the two nations.
Following the talks, India's foreign minister called for caution in the U.S. troop drawdown from Afghanistan. He said an abrupt withdrawal could undermine India's relationship with Afghanistan and lead to a return to power of the anti-Indian Taliban at the expense of Afghan groups with close ties to India.
Clinton also stressed the need for stronger financial ties with the United States, calling for more open markets and increased sales of U.S. arms to India.
She said Washington remains fully committed to expanding cooperation with India under the 2008 civil nuclear cooperation deal. But she added the two sides need to resolve all outstanding issues related to the accord, which could open up business opportunities for U.S. nuclear energy companies in India.
On Wednesday, Clinton travels to India's southeastern city of Chennai, where she will deliver a speech on the importance of U.S.-Indian economic ties and meet representatives of U.S. companies.
