Hillary trots out ‘do more’ mantra in New Delhi

At the India Today Conclave, she says Pakistan should do more to resolve issues related to terrorism

Pakistan is not helping enough with resolving issues related to cross-border terrorism and the problems faced by its neighbour Afghanistan, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the India Today Conclave on Sunday.

Responding to a question by Editor-in-Chief of India Today Group Aroon Purie on the crisis surrounding Afghanistan, Hillary said that the country has been under pressure from all sides.

The former first lady of United States said that Afghanistan is presently facing the continuance of Taliban regime and more worrisome presence of the Islamic State.

When asked if America is ever going to win the great battle in Afghanistan, Hillary said that it was an ongoing disappointment because the country has not been able to attain the level of stability that it was seeking.

Speaking about the president of Afghanistan, Hillary said that she knew President Ashraf Ghani for a long time and that she was aware of his efforts for the betterment of the nation.

She said that Ghani was instrumental in putting pillars under the Afghan society when it came to education, employment and giving people a different understanding to make Afghanistan a more successful nation.

While talking about Pakistan, Hillary recollected her time during the operation to eliminate dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda in May 2011.

The former US secretary of state said that she was present in the situation room advising then president Barack Obama on the raid against Laden. She said that it was a tough decision because the intelligence was 40-60 per cent.

Hillary said that the US was aware of the fact that the move would cause a lot of negativity in Pakistan. She added that despite the odds, they had to make the move nonetheless.

She said that she had recommended the president to launch the raid while others had a different opinion. The President however eventually green signaled the raid.

Further talking about Pakistan’s role, Hillary said that the US never actually got much from the country in terms of cooperation to help or support.

When asked if there was anything that the US could do to control the cross-border terrorism along the Line of Control on the border, Hillary said that US had tried a variety of ways to address it. She said that America even had international troops along the India-Pakistan border.

Hillary said that she had constant conversations with President Obama when asked about her interaction with the White House about cross-border terrorism.

Hillary, when posed with a question on Pakistan’s cooperation said that it was never a negative story, and that Pakistan had assisted US in identifying terrorists, arresting them and taking action against them.

She said, however, that Pakistan’s cooperation not relevant in terms of resolving the issue in the long run.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2018.