Harris calls upon Pak to act against terrorists on its soil

US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday called upon Pakistan to act against terrorist groups operating from its soil to ensure they do not threaten the security of both the United States and India and underscored the need to closely monitor Islamabad’s support for terrorism. Harris’s remarks came during her meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that lasted over an hour and “reflected warmth and cordiality”. The meeting with Harris was politically important for the Indian prime minister because Harris, a leading progressive in the Democratic party, had been severely critical of the Modi government’s controversial decision to abrogate Article 370 guaranteeing special status of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir and the enactment of the Citizenship Act that speeds up Indian citizenship for Hindus seeking refuge in India from repressive regimes. “She asked Pakistan to take action so that these groups do not impact on us security and that of India,” Shringla said, adding, “She agreed with the prime minister’s briefing on the fact of cross border terrorism, and the fact that India had been a victim of terrorism for several decades now; and on the need to rein in and closely monitor Pakistan’s support for such terrorist groups.” Pakistan was entirely absent from the readout of the meeting issued by the Vice-President’s office that spoke of the “strategic partnership” between the two countries, “collaborative efforts” in dealing with Covid, the need for “ambitious action” against climate change, ways to “build on the robust bilateral collaboration on space”, and the need to “strengthen democracy at home and abroad”.