Rubio acknowledges ‘the fact that armed terrorist groups operating from Pakistan target India’ | Watch

While speaking to reporters during his visit to India, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged New Delhi's concerns over armed terrorist groups operating in Pakistan. On Monday, the American diplomat said that "India has always been concerned" about the prevalence of terrorism in Pakistan.

However, when asked if the Indian side expressed any concerns regarding Pakistan playing the role of a mediator in the US-Iran conflict, Rubio maintained that the two are separate issues. "They're always concerned about, obviously. India is always pointing to the fact that armed terrorist groups are operating from Pakistani territory that target India," Rubio admitted.

"They're always concerned about that. But as far as the role they played as a mediator and a facilitator in the Iran situation, it never came up. I don't think that they would complain about that. I mean, their issue with Pakistan is different," he added.

The US Secretary of State is on a four-day visit to India, during which he held talks with the country's top leadership. On the first day, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The next day entailed his bilateral and delegation-level talks with External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and a meeting with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

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'Terrorism a shared challenge': Jaishankar

During a presser with Rubio on Sunday, Jaishankar described terrorism as a “shared challenge" between India and the United States. “India and the US have common interests but also shared challenges. Common is terrorism. Our position is very clear," Jaishankar said.

The Indian diplomat emphasised that India appreciated the “strong cooperation between concerned agencies in this domain" and specifically thanked the United States for the extradition of a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case.

He also laid out what he called India's broad principles on global affairs, saying India advocates “dialogue and diplomacy", supports “unimpeded maritime commerce", respects “international law," and believes in “trusted partners and resilient supply chains."

Rubio echoed similar concerns on terrorism and said that both nations suffered due to global terror networks. “Both our countries suffered due to global terror networks," Rubio said during the press interaction.