Pompeo, Gokhale say Pakistan must take 'concerted action' to dismantle terror groups

India and the US on Monday agreed that Pakistan must take "concerted action" to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and deny safe haven to all terror groups on its soil as Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale held talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here, the highest level meeting between the two countries after the Pulwama terror attack that escalated Indo-Pak tensions. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale began a three-day visit to the US on Monday during which he will meet senior officials of the Trump administration and exchange views on major foreign policy and security-related developments, officials said. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Gokhale is visiting Washington in connection with bilateral foreign office consultation and strategic security dialogue with his American counterparts.

During the meeting, Gokhale and Pompeo agreed that those who support or abet terrorism in any form should be held accountable, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Pompeo was directly in touch with the leadership of India and Pakistan and monitored the developments after the Pulwama attack to ensure that the security situation in the South Asia region did not deteriorate.

Gokhale and Pompeo expressed satisfaction over the significant progress and the quality of the India-US Strategic Partnership since Pompeo's visit to India in September 2018 for the first ever Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue.

The foreign secretary conveyed the appreciation to the US Government and to Pompeo personally for the firm support that India received from the US in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

Secretary Pompeo expressed his understanding of India's concerns regarding cross-border terrorism.

"They agreed that Pakistan needs to take concerted action to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and to deny safe haven to all terrorist groups in its territory. They also agreed that those who support or abet terrorism in any form should be held accountable," the statement said. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said that in the meeting Pompeo affirmed that the US stands with the people and government of India in the fight against terrorism. 

They discussed the importance of bringing those responsible for the attack to justice and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil, Palladino said.

They noted the strength of Indo-US partnership and discussed ways to further enhance cooperation, including on counter-terrorism. 

Gokhale and Pompeo also discussed other issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, US-India defence cooperation, and the growing US-India economic partnership, including joint efforts to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and reciprocal manner.