Washington: US President Barack Obama will discuss Pakistan in the context of regional security and counter-terrorism in his speech to Parliament on Monday, a senior US administration official said on Sunday.
"The President will definitely discuss Pakistan", the official said, but declined to go further than that because he did not want to get ahead of the president's remarks.
Obama drew criticism on Saturday after he paid tribute to victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks but made no reference in his remarks to India's traditional foe Pakistan, which New Delhi blames for harbouring anti-India militants.
Pakistan-based terrorists killed 166 people in a 60-hour rampage through Mumbai, gunning down their victims at luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish centre. India says elements in the Pakistan state were behind the attacks.
Indians want a strong statement against Pakistan for fostering militants, but Washington will tread a fine line between appeasing New Delhi and supporting Islamabad, an important US regional ally especially in the Afghanistan war.
Obama's visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, the first legs of a 10-day Asian tour, has been hailed as moving the United States closer to India at a time when Washington is trying to revive a weak economy and gather support to pressure China on its currency.
On the eve of their formal talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama had a meeting in New Delhi on Sunday during which the two leaders are understood to have taken stock of bilateral ties and ways to push these to higher levels of strategic partnership.
Singh and Obama had a one-on-one meeting for about 25 minutes before the private dinner hosted by the Prime Minister for the visiting leader and his wife Michelle at his 7, Race Course Road residence.
The two leaders are believed to have taken an overview of the bilateral relations, which have grown substantially over the last few years.
Singh and Obama, who will hold wide-ranging talks on Monday, are understood to have discussed ways in which the two countries could raise their cooperation to higher levels, particularly in economic, security, agriculture and science and technology.
The two sides will be issuing a joint statement after the formal meeting, which will outline new areas of cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels.
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