US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has reached India and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesay, 25 October.
Strengthening cooperation in strategic areas of defence, counter-terrorism, security, energy and trade are expected to figure during the meeting between Swaraj and Tillerson. He also asserted that America's relationship with India is of strategic importance which is not limited to South Asia.
Tillerson's visit also comes at a time when the Trump administration is "considering" India's request for armed drones for its air force.
- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reached India on Tuesday, 24 October
- He is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today
- Tillerson also met Pakistani PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other top leaders before embarking for India
- He urged them to increase efforts to eradicate militants and terrorists operating within the country
Rex Tillerson Reaches India
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, 24 October, from Pakistan. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today, 25 October.
Eradicate Terrorists Operating Within Pak Soil: Tillerson
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson bluntly told Pakistan's top leadership on 24 October that it must increase efforts to eradicate terrorists operating within the country.
Tillerson arrived in Islamabad on a whirlwind visit to reset bilateral ties strained after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorist groups.
During his meeting with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Tillerson discussed the bilateral cooperation and partnership, expanding economic ties between the US and Pakistan, and Pakistan's critical role in the region.
The US embassy said that the Secretary reiterated President Trump’s message that “Pakistan must increase its efforts to eradicate militants and terrorists operating within the country.”
To address those concerns, the Secretary outlined the United States' new South Asia Strategy and the vital role that Pakistan can play in working with the US and others to facilitate a peace process in Afghanistan that can bring stability and security to the region, the embassy statement said.
During the meeting, Abbasi assured Tillerson that his country is committed to the war against terrorism.
Defence Minister Khurram Dastigir Khan told Geo TV that Pakistan also highlighted the issue of Indian presence in Afghanistan and raised concerns about New Delhi's role in security affairs in the war-torn country.
We said that we do not have any issue with Indian development work in Afghanistan but we have issued with its security role.
He said the US official tried to “tell us that India is not a threat to Pakistan but our perception was different”.
Last Chance for Pak?
Tillerson, during a visit to Afghanistan on Monday, 23 October, said Washington has made some "very specific requests of Pakistan in order for them to take action to undermine the support the Taliban receives and other terrorist organisations receive".
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis earlier this month said the United States would try “one more time” to work with Pakistan in Afghanistan, before opting for more punitive measures. President Donald Trump has vowed to be tougher on Pakistan than his predecessors.
The United States has threatened further military aid cuts and US officials have mooted targeted sanctions against Pakistani military figures, but in the past two weeks there have been hints of a slight thawing in ties.
US Vice President Mike Pence and Tillerson last week called Abbasi to thank Pakistan after its army rescued a US-Canadian couple who were held hostage by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network for nearly five years, along with their three children born in captivity.
Pakistan Between a Rock and a Hard Place
India has increased aid to Afghanistan in recent years and last year promised to ship more arms. Such moves have aggravated fears in Pakistan that it will find itself wedged between two hostile neighbours.
Islamabad bristles at the idea that India holds the key to ending the Afghanistan conflict, and fears US meddling could unsettle the delicate balance of power in South Asia.
"Promoting a higher involvement of India in Afghanistan will only worsen the historic strategic rivalries playing out in the region," said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's former ambassador to United States and a senior member of the opposition Pakistan People's Party.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)