Pakistan has to do more work towards clearing terror sanctuaries: John Kerry

New Delhi: The United States on Wednesday said that Pakistan has to do more work towards clearing the terror sanctuaries and push harder against “indigenous groups” engaged in terrorist activities from its soil affecting ties with India and Afghanistan’s peace and stability. “The US has made this clear to Islamabad,” it said.

Visiting US secretary of state John Kerry however appeared keen not to openly criticise Pakistan, saying that “Pakistanis have suffered greatly” from terrorist activities in their own country, and that whenever Pakistan acts against terrorists there is an “intense pushback/rollback” (reaction) and that therefore everyone needs to be “supportive and understanding”.

He said that “progress was being made” by Pakistan which is now “moving (against terrorism) at a greater pace”. But at the same time, Washington wants Islamabad to get the message.

A joint Indo-US statement that followed Tuesday’s Strategic and Commercial Dialogue stated that the two sides “reiterated their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and reaffirmed their commitment to dismantle safe havens for terrorist and criminal networks such as Da’esh/ISIL, Al-Qa’ida, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company and its affiliates and the Haqqani Network and also “called on Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice”.

Mr Kerry, on the last day of his current three-day visit to New Delhi, said that he has discussed with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif the issue of taking stronger action against groups such as the Haqqani network and LeT.