'India now matters to US interests in virtually every field'

The US should ask Pakistan to meet its obligations in tackling terrorism emanating from its territory and directed at India, which now matters to the US interests in virtually every dimension, a top American think tank said today.
A task force of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the think tank, in a report on India said that the US and India should pursue mutual self-interest through closer cooperation and demand accountability from Pakistan.
"The US should demand that Pakistan meet its obligations as a state to tackle terrorism emanating from its territory, in both India and Afghanistan.
"If Pakistan is not willing to rein in terror, Washington should be prepared, at minimum, to end US taxpayer funding for defence equipment sales and reimbursement of coalition support funds," the report said.

The Task Force found that if India can maintain its current growth rate, let alone attain sustained double digits, it has the potential over the next two to three decades to follow China on the path to becoming another USD 10 trillion economy.
This places India at a unique moment in which the right choices could propel it to far greater relevance for global gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the decades to come, it said.

"Consequently, nothing is more important to India's future success - across all facets of national power - than achieving sustained high levels of annual economic growth," the report said and cautioned that India's growth might be hit in the case of a conflict with Pakistan.

"India is poised for power and prosperity if it can remain focused on its domestic transformation, and the risk of conflict with Pakistan threatens to drag India down.
"India should not have to, nor should it want to, endure further decades of having its strategic options limited by Pakistan," the report said.
Calling for a shift in the US government strategy towards India, the task force recommends that Washington and New Delhi transform their economic relationship just as significantly as the civil nuclear agreement transformed their strategic ties in the previous decade.
It recommended India to increase the pace and scope of economic liberalisation with the goal of expanding markets, including opening the Indian economy more deeply to trade and foreign investment.

"To reduce the chances of conflict that could delay or hinder India's global rise, the US should encourage India to improve its relationship with Pakistan - as an investment in its own rise - particularly, at least to start, through greater trade connectivity," it said.