Kamala meets Modi, calls on Pak to halt aid to terror
In a major acknowledgement of India’s concerns on cross-border terrorism, US vice-president Kamala Harris on Friday asked Pakistan to take action against terror groups operating from there so that they do not target India or the United States, also agreeing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s observation that Pakistan’s support for terror groups needs to be reined in and closely monitored. The US vice-president’s support was conveyed by her to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their over an hourlong “substantive, warm and cordial” bilateral meeting in Washington on Friday morning (IST).
While Ms Harris also reportedly spoke about the importance of defending and strengthening democratic ideals for both nations and the need “to promote the brand of democracy”, New Delhi said the US vice-president was “highly appreciative” of Indian democracy. PM Modi also invited the US vice-president and second gentleman (Ms Harris’ husband) Douglas Emhoff to visit India and the invitation was “graciously accepted”.
But, in what is being seen as a subtle message to India on the need to strengthen democracy at home, Ms Harris added, “Finally, as democracies around the world are under threat, it is imperative that we defend democratic principles and institutions within our respective countries and around the world and that we maintain what we must do to strengthen democracies at home. And it is incumbent on our nations to, of course, protect democracies in the best interest of the people of our countries.”
Speaking on the bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Ms Harris at a special MEA briefing in Washington, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, “When the issue of terrorism came up, the vice-president suo moto referred to Pakistan’s role in that regard. She said that they were terror groups that were working there. She asked Pakistan to take action so that these groups do not impact on US security and that of India. She agreed with the Prime Minister’s briefing on the fact of cross-border terrorism and the fact that India had been a victim of terrorism for several decades now and all the need to rein in and closely monitor Pakistan’s support for such terrorist groups.”
He added, “I would say that the discussions as I mentioned was substantive. They lasted over an hour, the meeting reflected warmth and cordiality. The discussions covered a number of areas which included Covid-19, climate change, the issue of terrorism and of course cooperation in the technology sector, including cooperation in cyber security, space, etc. They exchanged views on recent on recent regional developments of mutual interest, reaffirmed their commitment towards a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region . ... The Prime Minister thanked the US government for his generous support during the second wave of our pandemic.”
On the issue of democracy, US media reports quoted Ms Harris as saying, “I know from personal experience and from my family of the commitment of the Indian people to democracy and the work that needs to be done [so that] we can begin to imagine, and then actually achieve, our vision for democratic principles and institutions.”