Speaking out strongly against the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that the accused should be brought to book. ?We are watching and expecting there will be justice,? she said at a press conference in Gurgaon.
Responding to a question if the US was happy with the steps taken by Pakistan against the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks, Clinton said she had answered this question several times in the past two days.
?We expect every nation to take action against terrorism. And, we are watching and hoping that it will occur,? Clinton replied, when asked if she expected Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the attacks. ?Those who perpetrated the horrific attacks will meet their day of reckoning,? Clinton said, adding, ?We expect every country to stand against the scourge of terrorism.?
?Being a terrorist is very easy… it is easy to set off an explosion,? she said, while hoping that the fight against terrorism would succeed and that ?happy days? would return to India and the US as well. Citing the recent blasts in Jakarta, the visiting US envoy said networking of terrorists was a great threat to all peace-loving people, especially those of democracies like India, US and Indonesia.
She pointed to the threat of a global network of Al Qaeda, Taliban and varied militant outfits and underlined the growing coordination between democracies like India and the US in sharing information to combat terrorism.
She also noted that there was a change in Pakistan’s attitude to terrorism. ?We have seen an evolving commitment not only by the Pakistani government, but also by the Pakistani people, and a recognition that terrorism within the country is a threat to the nation as well,? she said.
?Over the past six months, in course of working with the government of Pakistan, we believe there is a commitment to counter terrorism by the government and that is what our expectation is. We are watching and hope (Pakistan) will fully cooperate against what is a syndicate of terrorism,? she said.
Replying to a question, she said the US was more committed in the fight against terrorism than any other country.
?We have suffered attacks, we have sent young men and women to fight against terrorists and we expect every country to stand against the scourge of terrorism. This is not specific to one country, but the expectations we have are for every country,? she said.
Clinton landed in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon for talks with government leaders to launch what she called a ?third phase? in the India-US strategic partnership.
She was received at the airport by India’s Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar and Gayatri Kumar, joint secretary in charge of the US in the external affairs ministry.
A number of agreements, including pacts on an end-use monitoring agreement that will encourage high-end arms sales and another pact on space launches, are expected to be signed on Monday. India is also likely to announce two sites for US nuclear reactors during Clinton’s visit. She will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday afternoon and discuss with him a host of bilateral, regional and global issues.
Delegation-level talks with Krishna will focus on building multi-pronged strategic dialogue between the two countries that will pave the way for starting phase-III of the US-India partnership. Besides civil nuclear cooperation, the two sides are expected to discuss economic and defence ties and cooperation in the fields of clean energy, agriculture, science and education.