US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said India’s primary concern regarding Pakistan is cross-border terrorism, calling the concern “justified”. He made the remarks while speaking to reporters in New Delhi.
Rubio is in India on a four-day official visit to attend the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting being held in the capital. During the trip, he held separate meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss bilateral ties.
Addressing questions on India-Pakistan relations and online hate speech targeting Indians, Rubio said Pakistan had acted as a mediator to help resolve a recent US-Iran confrontation. He added that India did not raise the issue with the US and did not register any objection.
However, Rubio said India has consistently pointed to terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil as its key worry. He reiterated that India’s concerns remain centred on Pakistan-linked terrorism and said the fear is reasonable.
