Tillerson slams Pakistan for providing 'safe havens' to terror groups

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 23 (ANI): United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday slammed Pakistan, citing that there were a number of terror groups, which find safe havens in the country.

"Pakistan needs to take a clear-eyed view on the number of terrorist organisations that find safe havens there," he said in Kabul, where he met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah and national security advisor Hanif Atmar today.

Tillerson, who is scheduled to hold discussions with high-ranking officials in Pakistan on Tuesday, said that the United States has made specific requests to Islamabad to undermine the support received by the Taliban and other terrorist organisations in the country.

The Secretary of State also warned Pakistan, saying, "We have said that in this whole strategy, this is a condition-based approach, and so our relationship with Pakistan will also be condition-based." He added that the U.S. was as concerned about the future stability of Pakistan as it is in many respects in Afghanistan.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said that Ghani and Tillerson had reaffirmed the U.S.-Afghan commitment to achieve peace, stability and long-term prosperity in the country.

Meanwhile, as a part of his five-nation tour, Tillerson will leave for New Delhi, from Pakistan, for his two-day visit to India.

Tillerson is scheduled to hold a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the Hyderabad House here, on Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Secretary of State had pulled up Pakistan and China, in his first major policy speech on India.

Speaking on "Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century" at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Tillerson said that in the last decade, counter-terrorism cooperation expanded significantly between India and the U.S.

While Tillerson criticised Pakistan for not taking an action against the terrorist groups based in the country, he criticised China for violating the international law and norms in South China Sea. (ANI)