Pakistan still epicentre of terror

Seemingly undermined by the massive domestic flap over a cabinet decision to shield criminal politicians, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh nevertheless pressed ahead with "widening, deepening and strengthening" India's ties with the United States, an enterprise that involved advancing agreements on civilian nuclear cooperation, trade, and security. The Prime Minister also bluntly signaled, with President Obama sitting beside him, that India has had enough Pakistan inflicting terrorism on India and will not respond to overtures without contrition or correctives from Islamabad. "I explained to President Obama the difficulties that we face given the fact that the epicentre of terror still remains focused in Pakistan. And I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif even though the expectations have to be toned down given the terror arm which is still active in our subcontinent," Singh said. Earlier, President Obama had expressed commiseration for the latest terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir but spoke about American hopes for a positive engagement between India and Pakistan, thanking the prime minister for his consistent push for peace. Remarks by President Obama suggested the two sides had made further progress in advancing the civilian nuclear deal. The two sides, the U.S President said have made "enormous progress on the issues of civilian nuclear power, including, in the last few days,the first commercial agreement between the U.S. and India on nuclear power. Obama appeared to be referring to an early works agreement between the nuclear company Westinghouse and India's NPCIL that is said to have been finalized. The two leaders showered warm personal sentiments on each other in what some observers said was Prime Minister Singh's farewell or legacy trip to the United States. Shortly before their meeting, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the Prime Minister's wife Gursharan Kaur for tea at the White House. Across the board, Singh has been an outstanding partner and India continues to grow at an amazing rate, Obama said. But, he added, evidently responding to Singh's contention that India is still a "poor country," there are still those in India trapped in poverty and Singh's priority is to alleviate that and bring prosperity to India. The U.S. wants to help him achieve that, "Because we believe that if there's a strong India, that's good for the world and it's ultimately good for the United States of America. Singh also praised Obama for "his vision, for his courage in giving diplomacy yet another chance" in Syria, saying India fully supports these initiatives because six million Indians live in the West Asia and the Middle East. They earn their livelihood there and have an important role of sustaining India's balance of payments. "Therefore, anything that contributes to peace and stability in the Middle East, in Iran, in Syria, is something which is in the interest of the global economy. It is certainly in the interest of people in the region in which India is placed," Singh said, recognizing an unappreciated Obama contribution to India's well-being. . Singh went into the Oval office meeting with Obama scorched by having been hauled over the coals by the Congress party heir apparent Rahul Gandhi over a cabinet decision to shield criminal politicians. The harsh criticism, coming hours before the Prime Minister was to meet President Obama, completely upstaged the bilateral dialogue, at least as far as the overwrought media was concerned, although the prime minister serenely continued with his engagements.