There has been a significant shift in Pakistan’s policy towards terror groups in the last year and it now recognised the threat posed by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), said a senior U.S. administration official on Thursday, hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised action against the outfit that is behind several terror strikes in India, including Mumbai 2008.
Mr. Sharif made this commitment in a joint statement with President Barack Obama after they met at the White House earlier in the day.
“This is very new,” the U.S. official said of the promise. “Understandably, they focussed on groups that targeted the Pakistan state initially. This is a demonstration of the recognition by Pakistan of the threat posed by it (LeT) against Pakistan and other countries ... We welcome Pakistan’s commitment.”
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“The Prime Minister apprised the President of Pakistan’s resolve to take effective action,” the Obama-Sharif joint statement said.
While the specific reference to the LeT sought to address a lingering Indian concern in its relations with Pakistan, the joint statement took on board several issues that Pakistan harps on: it called for “sustained dialogue” between the two countries “aimed at resolving all outstanding territorial and other disputes, including Kashmir”; acknowledged the importance of “regional balance in South Asia”; expressed concern over violence along the Line of Control; and was effusive in its praise for Pakistan’s drive against terrorism in the region. The statement also termed terrorism a topic of “mutual concern” between the two countries.
Asked whether this formulation meant that the U.S. accepted Pakistan’s allegation that India was fomenting trouble in Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the U.S. official said: “Pakistan has raised certain concerns. We have not reviewed the dossiers that they have given and I cannot comment on the content. But the best way to deal with this is, both countries start a dialogue on this.”
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The official was categorical that the U.S. would involve itself in the India-Pakistan bilateral relations only if, and to the extent that, both countries jointly agree and request such an engagement.
Asked whether the call for a “sustained dialogue” indicated disapproval of the Indian position that “terror and talks cannot go together,” the official said he did not want to comment on conditions for talks, and reiterated “the U.S. hope that both countries would talk to each other.”
No nuke deal “There is no such thing as a nuclear deal. I can tell you categorically that allegations of a 123 deal (agreement signed under Section 123 of the United States Atomic Energy Act of 1954) with Pakistan are completely false. Pakistan has expressed interest in civil nuclear cooperation and has called it a socio-economic necessity. But I can tell you categorically that we have not entered into negotiations. Nor are we seeking an exemption for Pakistan within the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in order to facilitate nuclear exports,” the official said, when asked whether Pakistan and the U.S. were negotiating a civil nuclear deal.
India had strongly reacted to news reports that the U.S. may be offering a nuclear deal to Pakistan.