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Pakistan still considers India as its number one enemy even as Islamabad is becoming increasingly convinced that it needs to take action against terrorists within its own territory, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
"We're dealing with a sovereign country that has a very clear idea of who they think their overall enemy is, namely India, but who has slowly been convinced, because of what's happened inside their own territory, that they have to take action," Clinton told US lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
"I think that that will continue to lead to positive steps," Clinton said in response to a question at a hearing on Afghanistan convened by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Secretary of State said the US has clearly told Pakistan that there can be no distinction between terrorists.
"We are now making the case to our counterparts in Pakistan, both in the civilian and the military leadership, that the efforts they have made against the TTP, primarily in Swat and now in Waziristan and the Mehsud tribal core, are necessary," Clinton said.
"...but far from sufficient efforts to protect themselves; that this syndicate, this network of terrorism, has to be addressed, that whatever the utility of any of these groups might have been in the past, they have morphed into a form that poses a threat to the Pakistani government."
Clinton said: "This is an argument that I think takes time to make. It is certainly an argument each of us, plus others, have carried repeatedly, and will continue to do so. But there is a great gulf of mistrust," she said in response to a question from Senator Richard Lugar, the Ranking member of the Committee.
Referring to observations made by several experts and think tanks, Lugar said al-Qaeda in Afghanistan have sometimes been useful for Pakistan to at least influence, if not control, things over in Afghanistan so that India would not have an influence.
"When the Indians were here visiting with you recently, they certainly have expressed some feeling of exclusion that came not only from Pakistan, but Pakistan's use of the Taliban in Afghanistan," he said.
Now the Obama administration has convinced the Pakistani military that they ought to do something about Pakistani Taliban in Swat valley and elsewhere, and maybe that's a change in their viewpoint.
Lugar said what is crucial is whether the Obama Administration is going to be able to deal with leadership in Pakistan -- civil, military or intelligence -- so that as a matter of fact they are prepared to face the border area where the Al Qaeda is based and Osama bin Laden lives.
"No one wants to talk about Osama bin Laden. Isn't this a major target? Isn't this a reason why continued warfare is necessary?" he asked. "Now if it is so, we would better talk about it directly to the Pakistanis. This being a public hearing, the Pakistanis are hearing that loud and clear, and they're going to have to respond," Lugar said.