U. S. President Barack Obama said today that Pakistan is making progress against what he called the "cancer" of extremism, but not quickly enough.
Obama said in Mumbai, India, that Pakistan realizes it has a "profound" problem with extremism and is taking steps to address it but that progress is "not as quick as we would like."
He also acknowledged the "incredibly complex" history between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars against each other, but said that his host nation had the biggest stake in Pakistan's stability and success.
His remarks come a day after he visited the scene of the deadly 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
The strikes, which killed 166 people, were blamed on extremist groups trained on the soil of Pakistan.
Some Indian commentators expressed disappointment that he had not been more forceful in condemning Pakistan while paying homage to the victims.
Obama is also due in New Delhi on November 8, where he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and deliver an address to parliament.
On November 6, Obama announced $10 billion in new trade deals with India. He said that "the United States sees Asia, especially India, as the market of the future."
After India, the U.S. president will travel to Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a boy, before traveling on to South Korea for a G20 summit, and to Japan to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.
compiled from agency reports
Obama said in Mumbai, India, that Pakistan realizes it has a "profound" problem with extremism and is taking steps to address it but that progress is "not as quick as we would like."
He also acknowledged the "incredibly complex" history between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars against each other, but said that his host nation had the biggest stake in Pakistan's stability and success.
His remarks come a day after he visited the scene of the deadly 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
The strikes, which killed 166 people, were blamed on extremist groups trained on the soil of Pakistan.
Some Indian commentators expressed disappointment that he had not been more forceful in condemning Pakistan while paying homage to the victims.
Obama is also due in New Delhi on November 8, where he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and deliver an address to parliament.
On November 6, Obama announced $10 billion in new trade deals with India. He said that "the United States sees Asia, especially India, as the market of the future."
After India, the U.S. president will travel to Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a boy, before traveling on to South Korea for a G20 summit, and to Japan to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.
compiled from agency reports