India not shying away from talks with Pak: Modi to Trump

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India is not shying away from talks with Pakistan and has urged it to take concrete steps to tackle terrorism but they have not made any efforts to combat the menace.

The Prime Minister made the statement during the bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.

"The Prime Minister made it clear (to Trump) that we are not shying away from talks with Pakistan but we expect certain concrete steps to be taken by Pakistan before that, and we don't find any efforts by them," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters at a briefing here after the bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

India raised the challenges it has been facing with regard to terror especially in Jammu and Kashmir since last 30 years, Gokhale said.

New Delhi has repeatedly maintained that dialogue with Pakistan will not be initiated until it takes concrete action against terror emanating from its soil.

"There was a long discussion on terrorism. The Prime Minister underscored to Trump that 42,000 lives have been lost to terror attacks in the last 30 years and that it is imperative for the international community to join the fight against terror," Gokhale said.

"Prime Minister put forward our perspective on the issue of terrorism, President Trump showed understanding, he also recognised and accepted that this is a challenge that both countries (India and US) face together," he stressed.

During the meeting, Modi told Trump that radicalization is fading away from India , a fact appreciated by the US President.

"The Prime Minister mentioned to Trump that globally from a developed number of countries as well there have been a significant number of foreign fighters which have participated in terror activities. He pointed to the fact that although we have the largest or probably the second largest population of citizens of Muslim faith in India," Gokhale said.

"The Prime Minister told President Trump that there has been a significantly lower level of radicalisation in India than there has been in any other part of the world. President Trump acknowledged and took note of the fact," the Foreign Secretary remarked.

Gokhale said that India was quite satisfied with the meeting which ranged between 30 to 45 minutes.

( With inputs from ANI )