I heard Mr Obama's talk with the students at St Xavier's college. I personally think he took a very balanced approach on the issue of extremism in Pakistan and also regarding Pak-India ties.
I'm not sure how news channels or print media are going to report it but there will be a slant, of that i'm sure. I already saw some indian channels like TIMES NOW and HEADLINES TODAY crying about how Obama's has been too soft on Pakistan and has perhaps disappointed Indians.
This is why i am posting a verbatim transcript of what he said. I may have missed a few points but this is all word for word.
"Pakistan is an enormous country. It is a strategically important country not just for the United States but for the world. It is a country whose people have enormous potential. But, it is also a country right now that within it has some of the extremist elements that we discussed in the first question. Thats not unique to Pakistan but obviously it exists in Pakistan. The Pakistani government is aware of that. And what we have tried to do over the last several years, certainly I speak about my foreign policy, is to try to engage aggressively with the Pakistani government to communicate that we want nothing more than a stable, peaceful, prosperous Pakistan. And that we will work with the Pakistani government in order to eradicate this extremism that we consider a cancer within the country that can potentially engulf the country."
On relations between India and Pkaistan;
"India and Pakistan can live side by side in peace so that both countries can prosper. That will not happen tomorrow but I think that needs to be our ultimate goal. And by the way the United States stands to be a friend and a partner in that process but we cannot impose that on India and Pakistan. Ultimately India and Pakistan have to arrive at their own understandings in terms of how their relationship grows."
Thanks for showing truth
