The Hindu : Front Page : Pakistan must crack down on all terror groups, says Cameron

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Pakistan must crack down on all terror groups, says Cameron

Sandeep Dikshit

Foreign Minister-level talks covered lot of ground: Manmohan

NEW DELHI: In his first observations on the India-Pakistan Foreign Minister-level talks held on July 15 in Islamabad, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that the discussions covered a lot of ground.

However, observations by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a press conference that followed the meeting “distracted from the larger elements of the agreements reached between the Foreign Ministers of both countries.”

Addressing journalists with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Dr. Singh regretted the “way in which the press conference was handled.” But the discussions between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan managed to “reach agreements on a large number of issues having a bearing on the bilateral ties.”

Hoping that Mr. Qureshi would accept the invitation to visit India, Dr. Singh was confident that both sides would “sooner or later restore dialogue to the proper sense of purpose.” Asked whether he was disappointed with the outcome of the talks, he said: “We are to close to events to pass a firm judgement on the outcome of the recent discussions.”

Answering another question, Dr. Singh hoped Pakistan would honour the commitments it gave to him and his predecessors on many occasions that terror from its territory would not be directed against India.

Asked what the international community would do to see that Pakistan did not export terror, especially to India, as stated by him in Bangalore on Wednesday, Mr. Cameron concurred with Dr. Singh's views and said Pakistan must crack down on or eliminate all terror groups, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and various Taliban affiliates, operating on its soil.

At the same time, he said, Pakistan should be encouraged to take steps to see that terror was reduced. “We want to work with Pakistan to make it fight LeT and Afghan or Pakistan Taliban. The Pakistan government has taken steps and it needs to take further steps to reduce terrorism in Afghanistan and India and on the streets of London. I think the right thing is to have discussion with Pakistan frankly, clearly and openly. Next week, I will have discussions with the President of Pakistan.”

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