TORONTO, June 28 � Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today pressed US President Barack Obama to convince Pakistan to take strong action against terrorists involved in anti-India activities in that country following disclosures made by LeT operative David Headley, reports PTI.
Briefing reporters about 30-minute long Singh-Obama meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit here, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the two leaders discussed the situation in the region and they spoke of counter-terrorism cooperation in Afghanistan to stabilise the situation there.
Singh briefed Obama about the peace initiatives with Pakistan but made it clear that Islamabad should abide by its commitment of not to allow terrorism emanating from its soil directed against India.
�If that commitment was abided by and was strengthened in the future then the relationship between India and Pakistan would greatly benefit,� Rao said.
The activities of Headley came up for discussion in the light of information coming out of Pakistani-American LeT operative after his interrogation by Indian investigators.
�Both India and the US have a mutual interest in ensuring that the information that is coming of the (Headley�s) interrogation is taken seriously by Pakistan with a view to controlling and eliminating terrorist elements on its territory which affect the stability of the entire region,� Rao said.
49-year-old Headley has confessed his role in Mumbai terror attacks and Indian investigators were given direct access to him this month. During his interrogation, Headley made disclosures, described as �useful� by the investigators.
Prime Minister Singh told Obama that while peace initiatives had their place, it was for Pakistan to show whether it was serious about using that information to tackle terrorism in the region.
To a question, Rao said the issue of extradition of former Union Carbide Chief Warren Anderson did not come up during the meeting.
When asked about Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik�s reported statement that it was not possible for either Pakistan or India to control the likes of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, she said it was possible for Pakistan to control the activities of people like Saeed who were not doing right for relationship between the two countries.
She said Home Minister P Chidambaram during his trip to Pakistan had told them that it was India�s hope that Pakistan continues to pay attention to the activities of Saeed it was still possible for Pakistan to take action against them.
Rao said the meeting between Singh and Obama was marked with warmth and cordiality. They referred to the strategic partnership between the two sides and expressed satisfaction over the current momentum of the relations.
They discussed the situation in Afghanistan and resolved to fight terrorism.
