Washington: Defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain has said Pakistan must show India it's taking significant action against those responsible for Mumbai terror attacks, some of whom live in Pakistan, and prevent future attacks.
"There's huge challenges out there, and that's just in that part of the overseas challenges that we face," he said on ABC TV channel's This Week show Sunday on return from a trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Iraq.
"Afghanistan, Pakistan is in difficulty. There are still incredible tensions between India and Pakistan. The Afghan government is not the effective government that we had hoped that it would be."
"You've got two countries right now, India and Pakistan, that heighten tensions, both of them nuclear- armed," McCain said.
"And the Indians, at least from their point of view, just having experienced a 9/11, and their people are demanding that they bring these people to justice," he said referring to those behind the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attacks. "Some of them reside in Pakistan, obviously.
Asked if the Indians should be allowed to take action against these people, McCain, who met with the leaders of the Pakistani government, except for President Asif Ali Zardari, during the trip, said: "It's not a matter of being allowed."
"I would hope that the Pakistani government...should understand that they need to take action to show the government and people of India that they are taking significant action in order to bring those people to justice, and actions that will prevent it from happening again.
"So there's incredible national security challenges, which doesn't argue for but mandates that we all work together as much as possible," said McCain adding he wanted to work with President Barack Obama in these "challenging times".
"So look, the president of the United States has been selected. It's time for us all to join behind him and help however we can," said the Republican leader who during the election campaign had repeatedly questioned Obama's qualifications to meet a security threat.
McCain said since his return he had talked to Obama on the phone, "and of course, major topic was Afghanistan."
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