Menon in US on mission to put pressure on Pakistan

Washington, Dec 2 (IANS) Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon is in the US on a mission to persuade the US to put pressure on Pakistan to come down heavily on terrororist groups on its soil in the wake of the Mumbai terror atrocity.

Arriving here Monday, Menon, who was expected to brief US officials about the terror attack in Mumbai and its aftermath, had a couple of meetings, but Indian embassy officials would not say with whom he met and what transpired.

Apart from Bush administration officials, Menon is also likely to meet some influential figures like Wendy Sherman, one of two former Clinton administration officials leading the transition team at the State Department for President-elect Barack Obama.

'The foreign secretary will raise India's concerns, especially after the recent spate of terror attacks, with Obama's transition team seeking America's help to put pressure on Pakistan to curb terrorism,' a senior Indian official told IANS in New Delhi.

The Mumbai terror attack and mounting evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the carnage has infused the visit with more urgency-getting the US to take the problem of Pakistani terrorism more seriously and initiating action to counter it.

Menon is also expected to meet Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, who served as Washington's chief interlocutor during the last lap of the India-US nuclear deal.