Latest news with #LisaCurtis
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Useful briefing, heard India's perspective regarding Pahalgam attack": Center for New American Security Director on meeting delegation
Washington, DC [US], June 6 (ANI): Center for New American Security Director Lisa Curtis said that the briefing by the India's all party delegation was 'very useful' and they heard their perspective regarding the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and India's response to the attack. Speaking to ANI, Curtis stated that the meeting was a good way to build understanding about what happened in India and why India responded this way. When asked about her meeting with all-party delegation, she stated, 'I think this was a very useful briefing by a diverse group of Indian parliamentarians, and we heard what their priorities are with the US- India relationship, and we also heard their perspective on the horrific terrorist attack that happened on April 22 in Kashmir and then we heard about India's response to that horrific terrorist attack.' 'On May 7, and so I think it was a good way to build understanding about what happened in India, why India responded the way it did, and I think that what we heard is there is large agreement between the US and India when it comes to countering terrorism, that you cannot stand back when you are attacked by terrorists, that there must be a response or the terrorists are just going to come back and do the same thing again,' she added. The all-party delegation, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, interacted with members of various think tanks at the Embassy of India at the US on Thursday (local time). 'The All Party Delegation led by Dr. @ShashiTharoor interacted with members of various think tanks at the Embassy today. The conversation focused on India's fight against terrorism and the multi-faceted India-US partnership,' Indian Embassy at the US posted on X. Shashi Tharoor is leading the all-party delegation which includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejasvi Surya, and Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from the BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora. During interaction with think tanks and young professionals, Shashi Tharoor said that the delegation has received solidarity and understanding at everywhere they went. He reiterated India's stance that 'there will be a price to pay' if terrorist attacks like this are carried out in India. He said, 'And I'm very pleased to say that everywhere we went and I could say this quite confidently without exception, we have received both of what we sought. We have received understanding and we have received solidarity. And these two things are really what we came for. We will continue to meet others during the remaining time today and tomorrow. I want to stress one thing, and then I'll be very happy to open it up for discussions, and that thing is quite simply that this is not something we would really have wanted to spend our time on. 'We are a country focused on growth and development. Our focus has entirely been on the economic advances that are so essential to pull a few the few people who remain below the poverty line in our country out below that and to take the rest into the developed India of our dreams. But, sadly, when this kind of thing is done to us, and for very cynical motives, which I think are pretty apparent so I won't spell them out, it was necessary for us to show that we will not allow people to cross the border and kill our citizens with impunity. That for terror strikes like this, which show all the hallmarks of meticulous planning and military style execution, that there will be a price to pay. And that was very strongly the message that we sent.' The all-party delegation reached the US after completing their visit to Brazil. The diplomatic effort is part of India's broader global outreach following Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 as a military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, which claimed 26 lives and injured several others. Subsequently, the Indian Armed Forces carried out strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI)
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S.-Funded News Organizations Defy Trump and Continue Reporting
Multiple U.S.-funded news organizations worldwide continue to operate in the face of cuts and purges from the Trump administration. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order to destroy the U.S. Agency for Global Media. The next day, virtually the entire staff at Voice of America was fired, as they are considered federal employees. But other international broadcasters funded by the United States operate as nonprofits that rely on federal grants—and they're fighting back. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks are all continuing reporting while they prepare for legal challenges to Trump's order, which they believe is 'unlawful.' 'Our pro bono legal team is prepared to take all necessary steps to ensure that RFE/RL continues its Congressionally authorized mission,' wrote Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Board Chair Lisa Curtis on LinkedIn. She continued: Here are four reasons it's illegal for USAGM to deny appropriated funds to RFE/ violates the statute governing RFE/RL. 1. It violates the statute governing RFE/RL. 2. It violates Congressional appropriations laws. 3. It violates the U.S. Constitution. The Appropriations Clause and the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, and the Impoundment Control Act, cannot be ignored. Justice Kavanaugh agrees and said so in his Aiken County decision in 2013. 4. Finally the grant termination itself is unlawful. Leaders of the outlets said programming is set to continue until further notice.
Express Tribune
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
IS-K terrorist's capture may reset Pak-US ties: Curtis
The arrest and extradition of the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) terrorist behind the August 26, 2021, deadly attack on US Marines underscores the importance of the US-Pakistan counterterrorism partnership and could serve as a "building block" to restore bilateral ties. In an interview with VOA Deewa Services, Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), described the development as an important step. "I think this could be sort of a building block, to reset the US-Pakistan relationship – a very important step – and obviously President [Donald] Trump mentioned it in his statement to the joint session of US Congress," she noted. Curtis was referring to capture of Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as "Jafar," by Pakistani agencies who is accused of masterminding the Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul which killed 13 American servicemen and roughly 170 Afghans. President Trump broke the news of Sharifullah's capture Tuesday night in a speech to Congress on Capitol Hill. "Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity," Trump said. The US president hailed Pakistan for helping with Sharifullah's arrest. "And I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster," the US president said. Recalling the strained US-Pakistan relations under President Joe Biden, Lisa Curtis dismissed the claims made by Jon Finer – who served as Biden's principal deputy national security advisor – that Pakistan's weapons programme was directed at the US. Instead, she pointed out that Pakistan's strategic focus remained on countering India due to its history of three wars. "Pakistan's strategic programmes are driven by the desire to pace with India's programmes ... with India, it has three wars, so this is the opportunity to reset the relationship between the Trump administration and Pakistan." Curtis, who served in Donald Trump's first administration as the senior director for South and Central Asia in the National Security Council, suggested that US foreign policy should recognise the new geopolitical landscape. She stressed that "we are in a new era". With no US troops in Afghanistan, the primary concern was now strategic competition with China as it is not in Washington's interest for Islamabad to become entirely dependent on Beijing. "The major issue is strategic competition with China, and it's not in the United States interests for Pakistan to completely dependent on China. We want Pakistan to have options, alternatives," she emphasised. While reinstating military aid at levels seen after 9/11 was unlikely, the countries could tap into potential areas of cooperation, particularly in the IT sector, critical minerals and other mutual economic interests. The senior fellow at the DC think-tank reckoned that while a formal alliance or strategic partnership may not be on the table, fostering a cordial relationship with Pakistan in key areas of mutual benefit remains an option. "There are opportunities they [the US and Pakistan] can cooperate when there is mutual interest in IT sector, critical minerals." Regarding Pakistan's long-standing ties with China, she noted that Islamabad sought balanced relations and did not want to be wholly reliant on Beijing. "They [Islamabad] would prefer to have a good relationship with the United States, so again that is to the United States' benefit, so certainly it's not in the interest of the United States to see Pakistan you know fully dependent on China," Curtis said. She added the US did not want to see a worsening of Beijing's historical ties with Islamabad or even a deepening of the relations. "All I am saying is that the United States does not want to see China's relations with Pakistan are worsened or deepened, not so deepened where China finds a military outpost in Pakistan," she added.
