India key player in Donald Trump’s South Asia strategy, no military action in Pakistan: US

The Pentagon has said that India is a key player in President Donald Trump’s strategy for South Asia, even as it confirmed that US was not contemplating military action inside Pakistan. The statement by Pentagon Pentagon’s chief spokesperson Dana White came on Thursday amid Pakistani newspaper reports suggesting a possible US crackdown inside the country.

Lauding India for its “help with respect to the South Asian strategy”, the Pentagon said that the America’s relationship with it is “multifaceted”. White hailed India for providing “a tremendous amount of developmental aid”.

"Our relationship with India is multifaceted. India is helping with respect to the South Asian Strategy. They've provided a tremendous amount of developmental aid. They've also offered to help with aviation maintenance," said White.

"There's an opportunity. India's a perfect example of where the (defence) secretary wants to find and build relationships with partners, and so that's what we are doing. And with respect to the South Asia Strategy, they are a key player in ensuring its success," White said.

The US also reached out to Pakistan, saying the US looks “to gain Pakistani cooperation and assistance”.

Under the new South Asia strategy, Pakistan has an opportunity to be a partner in fight against terrorism, Pentagon's Chief Spokesperson Dana White said.

"It (Pakistan) has been a victim of terrorism, and it has supported terrorism. We are looking for Pakistan to actively join -- it can do the things we need them to do to confront terrorism," said White.

"So it's an inflection point, it's an opportunity, and we hope Pakistan will take it," she said in response to a question.

Joint Staff Director Lt Gen Kenneth F McKenzie said, "Through a variety of measures, we look to gain Pakistani cooperation and assistance as we pursue operations in Afghanistan. But we're not planning to conduct military operations inside Pakistan," he told Pentagon reporters in response to a question.

(With PTI Inputs)