- State Dept says Washington a partner of Islamabad but doesn’t influence Pakistani decisions.
- Ned Price says terrorism shared threat to region.
- US continues to call on Taliban to uphold commitments.
The United States is a partner of Pakistan but does not have any influence on any decisions made by the country, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said during Thursday’s press briefing.
The statement came in response to a question related to the terrorist attacks in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the population being affected as a result.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in terror incidents, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, during the past couple of months after the banned outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) put the truce with Islamabad to an end.
In light of the recent events, Washington has backed Pakistan’s “right to defend itself from terrorism”, saying that the country has suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks.
US State Dept Spokesperson Ned Price reiterated US’ support for Pakistan’s right to self-defence against the “enduring challenge” of terrorism “emanating from Afghanistan” that took many Pakistani lives.
The spokesperson said that terrorism is a “threat that Pakistan itself faces” and has suffered huge losses in terms of precious lives in various terrorist attacks led by militants operating in the border regions.
“Of course, Pakistan has every right to defend itself. This is ultimately, in some cases, a shared threat to the region, and it’s one we take very seriously, as do our Pakistani partners, of course,” Price said.
When asked whether the US is encouraging Pakistan to take any action in this regard, Price said: “Pakistan will do what’s in its self-interest, and it will take action when it deems appropriate based on the inherent right of self-defense”.
Commenting about the recent tensions between Islamabad and TTP, Price said that it is known that Pakistani people have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks.
The US continues to call on the Taliban to uphold the counterterrorism commitments and pledges to curtail the ability of international terrorists to be able to operate on Afghan soil, he concluded.
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