Pakistan must combat UN-designated terrorists, US reiterates

Washington: In the wake of India pulling out of the Saarc Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November after the cross-border terror attack on an army base in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month, the US has reiterated that Pakistan must "take effective action to combat and delegitimise" UN-designated terrorists and terror groups.

US National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice spoke to her Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Wednesday and "strongly condemned the September 18 cross-border attack on the Indian Army Brigade headquarters in Uri and offered condolences to the victims and their families," US National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price said in a press statement.

"Ambassador Rice affirmed President (Barack) Obama`s commitment to redouble our efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorism throughout the world," Price said.

"Highlighting the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region, Ambassador Rice reiterated our expectation that Pakistan take effective action to combat and delegitimise United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, and their affiliates."

The early morning attack on the Uri army base on September 18 claimed the lives of 18 Indian soldiers.

India has blamed the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed for the attack.

The attack came amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir that has claimed around 90 lives following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in July.

After India announced its decision on Tuesday to pull out of the 19th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad on November 9-10, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan too followed suit citing state sponsorship of terrorism as the reason.

In his statement, Price said that in the context of the strong India-US relationship, Rice, in her conversation with Doval, "discussed our shared commitment with India to pursuing peace and regional stability and pledged to deepen collaboration on counter-terrorism matters including on UN terrorist designations."