If you don't act against terror, we will: US to Pakistan

The Trump administration said today that it has warned Pakistan that if it fails to take "decisive" actions against terror groups, the US will "adjust" its tactics and strategies to achieve the objective in a "different way".

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told Pakistan that it must take action against terrorist groups and dismantle their safe havens on its soil, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told PTI.

"We have communicated our expectations to Pakistan numerous times that they must take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders, Nauert said.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The State Department remarks comes a day after Tillerson concluded his maiden trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

The US has "a very healthy exchange of information on terrorists, which is what we really hope to achieve with Pakistan," Tillerson said at a news conference in his last stop Geneva.

The US Secretary of State said the message to Pakistan was, "Here's what we need for Pakistan to do. We're asking you to do this; we're not demanding anything. You're a sovereign country. You'll decide what you want to do, but understand this is what we think is necessary. And if you don't want to do that, don't feel you can do it, we'll adjust our tactics and our strategies to achieve the same objective a different way."

Tillerson said that he would not characterise his direct discussions with the Pakistani leadership as lecturing since the US had heard Pakistan most of the time.

"It was a very good and open exchange. In fact, we probably listened 80 per cent of the time and we talked 20 per cent. And it was important to me, because I have not engaged with Pakistani leadership previously. And, so my objective was to listen a lot, to hear their perspective," he said.

The US Secretary of State said he had put forth expectations to Pakistan "in no uncertain terms" and that the US would continue its engagement with Pakistan in the future.

"We put our points forward. We put our expectations forward in no uncertain terms. There has been significant engagement prior to my visit, and there will be further engagement in the future, as we work through how we want to exchange information and achieve the objective of eliminating these terrorist organisations, wherever they may be located, Tillerson said.

Tillerson said he had a thorough discussion with the Pakistani leadership including Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi and that the US would go by what Pakistan did and not what it said.

"We had the joint meeting with Prime Minister Abbasi and the full leadership team. And then I had a second meeting with Army General Bajwa and a couple of his close advisers, so we could have a more thorough discussion about some of the specifics," he said.

"There's nothing to be achieved by lecturing, but we should be very clear about expectations and what we're asking. And either people will step up and meet those expectations or they won't. We are going to chart our course consistent with what Pakistan not just says they do but what they actually do," Tillerson said.

He also said that future course of action would be based on conditions on the ground and that the entire South Asia strategy was a conditions-based strategy.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in a meeting yesterday with National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs said that Pakistan will neither surrender to the US nor compromise on its sovereignty.

Asif claimed that no specific "wish list" has been given to Pakistan by the US. The US has given a list of 75 wanted terrorists and pressed Islamabad for going tough on Haqqani network.

Responding to a question on Asif s comments, the State Department spokesperson said that Tillerson on his trip has put the US expectations in front of the leadership of Pakistan.

The spokesperson said that Tillerson during his visit to Pakistan told its leadership that America wants to work with Pakistan in a "positive way" because it is also in Islamabad's interest in long-term.