NEW DELHI: Islamabad should push harder against militants hiding within its borders, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, the second day of a visit to India. At the same time, Kerry acknowledged that Pakistan had made progress in the fight against extremism in recent months.

“It is clear that Pakistan has work to do in order to push harder against its indigenous groups that are engaged in extremist activities,” he said. Washington had made it clear to Islamabad that it needed to act against groups such as Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba, Kerry said.

“In fairness, the Pakistanis have suffered greatly from terrorism in their own country,” he observed. “All of us need to be supportive and also understanding of how difficult it is to take it one step by step.” Without elaborating, he added: “I believe that in the last months progress is being made and the Pakistanis are moving at a greater pace.”

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2016