WEB DESK
Dismissing concerns over Indian development activities in Afghanistan, a Trump administration official has said Pakistan is using a perceived threat of encirclement by India as an “excuse” to continue its support to terrorists.
National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said during a conference call yesterday that what India is doing in Afghanistan is not a threat to Pakistan. He said India is not building military bases and it is not deploying troops. Anton said in the worst case, the Pakistani government has been guilty of “active direct support” for terrorist groups. He said India is not doing the things that would constitute encirclement, which is one of the things that the Pakistanis complain about.
His comments came after US President Donald Trump laid out his policy for Afghanistan and the larger South Asian region. Trump sought a greater involvement from India while criticising Pakistan for tolerating terrorist safe havens and for its support to terrorists.