No change in South Asia policy: US

Ag AFP

WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday there was no change in the American policy towards South Asia.

Saying he had met Pakistan’s leadership a few weeks back, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hoped Pakistan would meet the target and would not allow sanctuaries for terrorists.

He also announced the US was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the toughest action to date against its longtime ally.

Pompeo said the US has "identified at least some of the individuals" behind the death.

"We are taking appropriate action which includes revoking visas, entering visa lookouts and other measures," Pompeo told reporters. Visa "lookouts" mean that suspects would be marked as inadmissible when trying to enter the United States.

"These penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the United States. We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those accountable," Pompeo said.

"We are making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence," he said.

The top US diplomat declined to specify the number of Saudis affected but said they came from "the intelligence services, the royal court, the foreign ministry and other Saudi ministries.”

Pompeo said the United States was also looking into whether to take action under a law named after Sergei Magnitsky, the anti-corruption accountant who died in Russian custody, that would impose financial sanctions on individuals behind Khashoggi´s death.

Pompeo reiterated that the United States still considered Saudi Arabia an ally, saying he and Trump were “not happy” to move against the kingdom.