Islamabad has to act on state-sponsored terrorism for successful India-Pakistan dialogue: US

File photo

New Delhi: Ahead of the US President Donald Trump's visit to India on Monday, Washington observed that Pakistan will need to act on terror groups extremists on its territory to have a successful dialogue with India. The White House said in a statement released on Friday (February 21).

A senior US administration official said, "We continue to believe a core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two is based on continued momentum in Pakistan's efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory. So we continue to look for that."

On being asked if the US President will offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue during his two-day tour to India, the official said, "I think what you'll hear from the President is very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue with each other to resolve their differences."

The official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said, "President will urge both countries to seek to maintain peace and stability along the line of control and refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region."

During Pakistani Prime minister Imran Khan's visit to Washington in 2019, the US President had offered that Washington could mediate between India and Pakistan, something that he has repeated seeveral times since.

Though, New Delhi has categorically dismissed the idea. India's official stance when it comes to India and Pakistan ties is no third party mediation which has been stated under the Shimla and Lahore agreements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meet with US President in France on the sidelines of G7 had said that India and Pakistan can "bilaterally" resolve all issues and "we don't want to trouble any third country".

The comments come even as Pakistan remains in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) due to its failure to implement the global watchdog's action plan which calls for action on terror groups operating on its territory. 

The FATF in a statement on Friday said that "all deadlines in the action plan have expired" and now Islamabad has time till June 2020 or "FATF will take action".

(With PTI inputs)