No good or bad terrorists, Pak must do more: Kerry

NEW DELHI: India and the United States today moved closer to forging a stronger relationship. While in Washington DC, the countries signed a military logistics pact to boost bilateral defence cooperation, in Delhi they took a common stand on Pakistan and the terrorism sponsored by it.

On equal footing: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with US Secretary of State John Kerry in New Delhi. Manas Ranjan Bhui

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 30

India and the United States today moved closer to forging a stronger relationship. While in Washington DC, the countries signed a military logistics pact to boost bilateral defence cooperation, in Delhi they took a common stand on Pakistan and the terrorism sponsored by it. The two countries asked Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to justice.

In Washington DC, the two countries signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) that effectively allows the US armed forces to operate from Indian bases, and also allows India to use US bases across the globe. Though the text of the pact is not out in the public domain, it provides for reciprocal logistical support, supplies and services between the armed forces.

Edit: LEMOA is inked

Agreeing with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US did not distinguish between bad and good terrorists. He said the “US stands with India on terror, no matter where it comes from.”

The message to Pakistan was loud and clear in the statements of both leaders.

In her statement to the media, Sushma took Pakistan head on and said she had conveyed to the US that Pakistan needed to act against Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the D-company. “Secretary Kerry and I also agreed on the need for Pakistan to do more to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice quickly,” she said.

“There was a meeting of minds when it came to terrorism which is the key challenge to the international community and the foremost threat to international peace and security,” she said.

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India-Pakistan ties have been tense since the Pathankot attacks. With the situation in Kashmir on the boil and Pakistan making efforts to internationalise the issue, progress on resuming dialogue remains elusive. The US statement is being seen as a nudge to Pakistan to act against terror emanating from its soil so that talks can be resumed.

The two countries also agreed to expedite exchange of terror-related intelligence.