US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) listens as India’s Minister for External Affairs S.M. Krishna (L) speaks at a breakfast meeting in New Delhi on May 8, 2012. – Photo by AFP
NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Tuesday on Pakistan to do more to crack down on violent extremism, a day after she said al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was believed to be hiding there.
“Combating violent extremism is something we all agree on,” Clinton said during a press conference at the end of a trip to India.
“We look to the government of Pakistan to do more. It needs to make sure its territory is not used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks, including inside Pakistan.”
Clinton said that the US was “cooperating closely with India regarding the threats that emanate against them.”
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna also stressed “the need for stronger action from Pakistan on terrorism, including on bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.”
As well as saying Zawahiri was in Pakistan, Clinton on Monday had pressed Islamabad over the presence of the founder of militant group Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) who is wanted over the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The United States last month offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the conviction of Hafiz Saeed, who lives openly in Pakistan and is considered a mastermind of the assault in India that killed 166 people.
Speaking in Kolkata, Clinton said she was “well aware” that the Pakistani government had not yet taken steps to help secure Saeed’s conviction.
“We’re going to be pushing that,” she said.
