India wants the United States not to shy away from stepping up pressure on Pakistan to eliminate terror camps operating from the territories under its control and to stop terror financing right away. “In the telephonic conversation with Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should have unequivocally asked Islamabad to act against terrorists, dismantle terror camps and stop terror financing,” diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian.
In what was watched closely and analysed minutely by the diplomats at South Block in New Delhi, Secretary of State Blinken on Sunday reached out to his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal seeking “to strengthen ties” between Washington and Islamabad. What has upset India is that while underscoring the resolute US-Pakistan commitment to Afghan stability and combating terrorism, Blinken stopped short of reminding Islamabad of its duty to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action against terrorists. “The US should use every single opportunity to ramp up pressure on Pakistan to counter terrorists who are using its soil as safe haven. And, Blinken should have done so,” a foreign ministry official said.
“With the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raising the Kashmir issue frequently in a bid to divert the world’s attention from the core issue of terrorism, the US and the entire global community for that matter should corner Islamabad on this,” says an official. But Blinken spoke with Bilawal reiterating the desire to strengthen what he called “our broad-based bilateral relationship”. “What India is bothered about is that there was no message at all on the expectation from Pakistan against terrorism,” says the official.
Sources said that the Biden administration would be given the same message by India through diplomatic channels. The diplomats in Washington will be in touch with their counterparts on this in the US. “India will continue to ask Pakistan to act against terrorists on every forum including the United Nations. In next two days, India’s permanent representative to the UN may be raising the issue of terrorism vis-à-vis Pakistan’s patronage to this menace,” sources said.
As a reminder to the Biden administration, an official referred to the India-US joint statement after 2+2 Ministerial meeting in Washington which asked Pakistan to take “immediate, sustained, and irreversible action” to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks and called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack and Pathankot attack to be brought to justice. “The commitment that is expressed in the document should be seen on the ground as well,” diplomatic sources pointed out.