What’s with visiting American politicians and officials saving the best soundbite for their last public engagement?
President Barack Obama did it with his famous Siri Fort address last year when he reminded India and Indians that religious tolerance and diversity were our greatest strengths and we should fight to preserve it. Now his top foreign policy man, Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken about the recent crackdown on NGOs like Amnesty and the slapping of sedition charges on protesting citizens.
“We have to respect the rights of all our citizens irrespective of creed and allow them to protest in peace without fear that they will be jailed,” Kerry said this in his interaction with students at IIT Delhi which incidentally was also his last public engagement, much like Obama’s last year.
Kerry also had some tough words for India’s neighbour Pakistan on the issue of terrorism. Kerry said, “it is clear that Pakistan has to do more on sanctuaries offered to groups like the Haqqani network and LeT especially in their western sector. We have been working on this. I have had multiple conversations with both Prime Minister Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif. It is a work in progress.”
Interestingly, both in his press conference on Tuesday at the conclusion of the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue and later on Wednesday morning at IIT, Kerry seemed to be sympathetic towards Pakistan and the enormous task it is up against in trying to cleanse that nation of terror groups.
In the press conference, with Sushma Swaraj, India’s External Affairs Minister to his right, Kerry said , "I think they have been trying especially in the last few weeks and months to deny sanctuary to various terrorist groups. And I must say they have been doing a reasonable job.”
This last part of his answer went largely unreported but did surprise many of the reporters at the press conference.
Late Wednesday evening, John Kerry will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he flies out for Washington DC. This is the last time Kerry will be in India as Secretary of State. He can go back satisfied at all that has been achieved in the last two years in the Indo-US relationship and also having held up a mirror to his hosts.
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