WASHINGTON: The US President Barack Obama has said that it’s unacceptable for Pakistan to provide safe havens to terrorists, adding that that those behind the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai must face justice.
“I’ve made it clear that even as the United States works with Pakistan to meet the threat of terrorism, safe havens within Pakistan are not acceptable and that those behind the Mumbai terrorist attack must face justice,” Obama said in an interview to India Today magazine.
Obama will arrive in New Delhi on Sunday on a three-day official visit to participate in the Indian Republic Day celebrations to be held on January 26. He will also hold a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The Government of Pakistan has pledged its cooperation in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, and we urge them to uphold that promise,” the US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told media last month in reply to a question relating to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attack case.
Later at a news briefing at the US State Department on January 22, the spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the United States backs Pakistan’s commitment to eliminate militant groups without any discrimination.
The spokesperson dispelled the impression that Pakistan explicitly differentiates between the militant groups.
“The Pakistani government has made clear in both private conversations and public statements that it’s in Pakistan’s own interest to take steps against all militant groups in Pakistan and explicitly do not differentiate between such group,” Jen Psaki said.
“We support this commitment and believe that it’s fundamental to addressing terrorism and ensuring attacks, such as the horrific one that happened just weeks ago, -the impact of the Peshawar schoolchildren, never occur again,” she added.
