Pakistan’s progress on stamping out terror is slow: President Obama

MUMBAI - US, President Barack Obama on Sunday said Pakistan’s progress on stamping out terror is slow, and added that it is not acting as quick as desired.

“There are elements of terror in it. We will work with the Pakistani Government to eradicate extremists. Pakistan’s progress on stamping out terror is slow. The problem of extremism must be addressed. An unstable Pakistan is bad news,” said President Obama, while interacting with India’s Generation Next at St Xavier’s College here today.

“Pakistan is an enormous country with enormous potential. Pakistan is strategically important to the United States and a trust must develop between India and Pakistan. India has the biggest stake in a stable Pakistan,” he added, when asked why Pakistan is a great ally of the US.

Commenting on America’s Afghanistan policy, the US President said a stable Afghanistan is necessary.

“We can’t withdraw troops from Afghanistan. We need to follow the Iraqi model in Afghanistan. Pakistan must also be patient,” he added.

Both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have left for New Delhi from Mumbai and are expected to arrive in the national capital at around 3: 45 p.m.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, will receive President Obama when he lands here on Sunday afternoon.

Dr. Singh personally took the decision to go to the tarmac at the Air Force Station Palam, next to the Indira Gandhi International Airport to receive the Obamas’, who will arrive on Air Force One at 3.35 p.m.

This will be the third time that Dr. Singh will break away from protocol of not receiving dignitaries at the airport. He has departed from this on two previous occasions - In March 2006, when he went to receive then US president George W. Bush and before that, when he went to receive Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdullah Aziz. (ANI)