Friday, July 17, 2009 NEW DELHI: U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton urged India on Friday to join Washington in supporting Pakistan's fight against terrorism, but Delhi demanded results before it begins formal peace talks with its rival.Clinton is due to arrive in Mumbai late on Friday to start a five-day visit designed to cement ties and dispel any doubts about U.S. President Barack Obama's commitment to India's role as a rising global power.Although her trip has a wide agenda, including securing a deal to ensure U.S. arms technology does not leak to third countries, Clinton is expected to push for a smoothing of Indo-Pakistani ties frayed by last year's Mumbai attacks.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani agreed on Thursday to fight terrorism jointly but Singh insisted Pakistan must punish those responsible for the Mumbai attacks if it wants formal talks.Clinton, in an opinion piece published in the Times of India newspaper on Friday, wrote that both India and the United States had "experienced searing terrorist attacks"."We both seek a more secure world for our citizens. We should intensify our defense and law enforcement cooperation to that end. And we should encourage Pakistan as that nation confronts the challenge of violent extremism," she wrote.Singh said the agreement with Gilani had not diluted India's position that Pakistan must stop militant groups using its territory to carry out attacks on Indian soil as a precondition for resuming peace talks, known as the composite dialogue.India paused the talks after the attack on Mumbai last November, in which 166 people were killed."It only strengthens our stand that we wouldn't like Pakistan to wait for the resumption of the composite dialogue... but take action against terrorist elements regardless of these processes that may lead to resumption," Singh told parliament on Friday.
Friday, July 17, 2009 NEW DELHI: U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton urged India on Friday to join Washington in supporting Pakistan's fight against terrorism, but Delhi demanded results before it begins formal peace talks with its rival.Clinton is due to arrive in Mumbai late on Friday to start a five-day visit designed to cement ties and dispel any doubts about U.S. President Barack Obama's commitment to India's role as a rising global power.Although her trip has a wide agenda, including securing a deal to ensure U.S. arms technology does not leak to third countries, Clinton is expected to push for a smoothing of Indo-Pakistani ties frayed by last year's Mumbai attacks.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani agreed on Thursday to fight terrorism jointly but Singh insisted Pakistan must punish those responsible for the Mumbai attacks if it wants formal talks.Clinton, in an opinion piece published in the Times of India newspaper on Friday, wrote that both India and the United States had "experienced searing terrorist attacks"."We both seek a more secure world for our citizens. We should intensify our defense and law enforcement cooperation to that end. And we should encourage Pakistan as that nation confronts the challenge of violent extremism," she wrote.Singh said the agreement with Gilani had not diluted India's position that Pakistan must stop militant groups using its territory to carry out attacks on Indian soil as a precondition for resuming peace talks, known as the composite dialogue.India paused the talks after the attack on Mumbai last November, in which 166 people were killed."It only strengthens our stand that we wouldn't like Pakistan to wait for the resumption of the composite dialogue... but take action against terrorist elements regardless of these processes that may lead to resumption," Singh told parliament on Friday.
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