Gurgaon, July 19: Coming out strongly against terrorism on the second day of her visit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted on Sunday that Pakistan houses a “syndicate of terrorism”, and that the US was watching the actions being taken by Islamabad against the scourge and expected that perpetrators of Mumbai attacks meet their “day of reckoning”.
She emphasised that terrorism is a threat to all, including those who have given haven to such elements, and every country should stand up to defeat the menace.
“We are certainly watching and expecting that there will be justice and those who launched the horrific attacks in Mumbai will meet their day of reckoning,” she said at an interaction with press here.
Clinton, who will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hold talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna tomorrow, said she realises that the “syndicate” of terrorism in Pakistan is “troubling” India, besides the US.
She said the US had “seen an evolving commitment, not only by Pakistani government but also Pakistani people and a recognition that terrorism within a country is a threat to that country”.
In the last six months, “we believe there is a commitment to fight terrorism that permeates the entire government (of Pakistan). That is what our expectation is as well,” Clinton said.
She said the US is talking to Pakistan at all levels — government, military, civilian and intelligence– on the issue of fight against terror.= “We are watching it and we hope they will make progress against what is a syndicate of terrorism — Al-Qaida, Taliban and many other terror organistions are connected in a way that is deeply troubling to us, and I know to India. But it is also now troubling Pakistan,” she said.
Emphasising that nobody is safe anywhere from terrorism, she said every country has a responsibility to “stand up against the scourge. This is not limited to any one country.”
She said, “It is an expectation that we have from every nation because we think networking of terrorists across the globe, as we saw in Jakarta, is a threat to all people, particularly in democracies such as the US, India, Indonesia who are targeted by terrorists for very fact that we are living free and independent lives in sovereign, stable nations.”
–Agencies