Central & South Asia
Obama calls for Indo-Pak peace
US president calls for the two Asian nuclear rivals to reinitiate the peace
process to bring stability to the region.
Last Modified: 07 Nov 2010 12:14 GMT
Barack Obama, the US president, has called on India to engage with Pakistan to
improve relations between the two nuclear rivals that were inflamed by the 2008
Mumbai attacks.
This came amid India's concerns about Pakistan, as the presidential visit to
India entered its second day on Sunday.
The relations between the two countries are key to US strategy to win the war
in Afghanistan.
Obama said that Pakistan was not acting quickly enough to deal with militancy
within its borders.
This view has been expressed time and again by many Indian officials who say
that although Islamabad is taking aid from Washington, it is also backing
militants in Afghanistan.
"There are more Pakistanis who've been killed by terrorists inside Pakistan
than probably anywhere else," Obama said.
Responding to questions from students at a college in Mumbai, Obama was
cautious but clear in saying that both [India and Pakistan] were needed to help
stabilise Afghanistan where thousands of US troops battle militants.
Afghanistan strategy
"My hope is that over time, trust develops between the two countries, that
dialogue begins, perhaps on less controversial issues, building up to more
controversial issues," Obama told students.
India has given $1.3bn in aid to Afghanistan, a policy that has been unsettling
for Pakistan.
But India claims to want stability in Afghanistan to stop the country from
being used to harbour anti-Indian religious groups.
"India's investment in development in Afghanistan is appreciated," Obama added.
"Pakistan has to be a partner in this process, in fact all countries in the
region are going to need to be partners in this process. The United States
welcomes that, we don't think we can do this alone."
Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeera's Prerna Suri said that, "It [the call for
peace talks] hasn't come as a surprise to the Indian administration, they do
see Pakistan as a wider strategic partner of the US as Americans do need them
for an exit strategy."
Obama's first leg of a 10-day Asian tour has been seen as driving the US closer
to India as Washington tries to revive a weak economy and gather support to
pressure China on its currency.
Earlier on Saturday, the US president urged India to relax trade and investment
barriers in order to boost economic relations between the two countries.
Obama, who is on a three-day visit to India, said the growing economic power
must make "a steady reduction in barriers to trade and investment" in sectors
from retail to telecommunications.
"New jobs and growth flow to countries that lower barriers to trade and
investment," Obama said on Saturday at a business meeting in India's financial
capital, Mumbai.
"As we look to India today, the United States sees an opportunity to sell our
exports in one of the fastest growing markets in the world. For America this is
a jobs strategy".
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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