Pakistan must stop ‘supporting state or non-state terrorism’: Modi

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Pakistan should stop ‘supporting state or non-state terrorism’ if it wanted better ties with India, NDTV reported on Friday.

Modi said, “Pakistan needs to remove ‘self-imposed’ obstacle of terrorism which comes in the way of amicable ties between New Delhi and Islamabad.” Terming peace a ‘two-way street’, PM Modi asked Pakistan to play its part by putting a complete stop to any kind of support to terrorism stressing whether state or non-state.

"In my view, our ties can truly scale great heights once Pakistan removes the self-imposed obstacle of terrorism in the path of our relationship. We are ready to take the first step, but the path to peace is a two-way street," PM Modi told The Wall Street Journal, in comments posted on its website.

He said that he had always maintained that instead of fighting each other, India and Pakistan should together fight against poverty. "Pakistan's failure to take effective action in punishing the perpetrators of terror attacks limits the forward progress in our ties," PM Modi said.

Marking two years of his government this week, PM Modi said he had adopted a proactive agenda for a peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood on his first day in office. "I have said that the future that I wish for India is the future that I dream for my neighbours. My visit to Lahore was a clear projection of this belief," he said.

Responding to increasing assertiveness by China, PM Modi said, "We don't have any fighting with China today. We have a boundary dispute, but there is no tension or clashes. People-to-people contacts have increased. Trade has increased. Chinese investment in India has gone up. India's investment in China has grown."