Pak should shut terror camps: US

Ahead of President George W Bush8217;s visit to India and Pakistan, the US has said that Islamabad will have to close down camps of Kashmiri militant groups in its territory and respect the Line of Control LoC.

8220;Often, the US said clearly that the LoC had to be respected, and camps and operations closed down,8221; Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia designate Richard Boucher said at his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. He was answering questions of Senator Richard Lugar, Panel Head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Kashmiri terror outfits operating out of Pakistan.

Lugar also questioned boucher on what the State Department was doing about recrudescence of Taliban groups in Pakistan, and what President Pervez Musharraf had done about Kashmiri terrorist groups operating in his country. Boucher said, 8220;Musharraf had made fundamental decision of changing Pakistan8217;s course in the aftermath of the September 11 attack. Pakistan must carry on the long-term effort.8221;