By IANS,
Washington : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants Pakistan to do more to check extremists and has warned of consequences if a terrorist attack is traced back to that country.
“We think that there’s more that has to be done,” she said Thursday at an interaction at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think tank, when asked to clarify her remarks about her earlier warning of “severe consequences” in such an event.
“And we do fear the consequences of a successful attack that can be traced back to Pakistan, because we value a more comprehensive relationship. So we do expect more,” Clinton said, repeating her warning given an interview with CBS Sunday though in an indirect manner.
In a bid to soothe ruffled feathers in Pakistan, State Department officials have been playing down her remarks to the channel suggesting it had not been reported in the context and that CBS edited the interview.
Referring to the strategic relationship being developed with Pakistan, Clinton said: “The fact that we have expanded our interactions far beyond the counter-terrorism agenda which was basically what we inherited, that we are focused on trying to create a broader and deeper understanding between our two countries and that we have gone quite a distance in creating a better atmosphere.”
But Clinton also expressed concern over the recent attacks. “We are concerned about the recent attack and other efforts that thankfully have not been successful.
“We’ve been encouraged by the way that the Pakistani government and military have, in this past year, been much more willing to go after the terrorists who are not only threatening outsiders but threatening them: the military actions, you know, in Swat and Waziristan,” she said.
In an apparent reference to the Times Square bomb attempt, in which investigation has pointed to the involvement of Pakistani Taliban, Clinton said: “There is a lot of effort that is being undertaken on the Pakistani side to provide information to our teams over here.
“And we just believe strongly that there is more that Pakistan must do to face what is now a common enemy,” she said.