WASHINGTON: According to reports that militants have taken control of a counterterrorism center in Bannu, the United States on Monday offered Pakistan unconditional support in its fight against the TTP and other similar groups, indicating that the two countries share the goal of defeating terrorism.
It also offered to help India and Pakistan settle their differences, reminding them that they were important global partners and that America wanted to keep their “valuable partnerships.”
These remarks were made by Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US State Department, at a news briefing a few hours after Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in Washington to meet with US officials.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured. He stated, “We urge those responsible to end the seizure of the counterterrorism center, release the hostages, and cease all acts of violence.”
He said in response to a question about Monday’s takeover of a CTD center in Bannu, “The government of Pakistan is a partner when it comes to these shared concerns, including the challenge of terrorist groups inside Afghanistan… terrorist groups along the Afghan-Pakistan border… we stand ready to assist, whether with this unfolding situation or other situations.”
Mr. Price stated in response to a second question regarding the verbal altercation that took place last week between the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers inside the United Nations: India and we have a global strategic partnership. I just talked about how deep our partnership with Pakistan is. The two relationships exist independently. There is no one-sided relationship.
He stated that the United States recognizes the significance of preserving these valuable partnerships with our Pakistani and Indian friends, noting that they had a relationship in which “we can be friends with both.”
“As far as these disagreements are concerned, we have partnerships with both countries, and as a result, we do not wish for India and Pakistan to engage in verbal conflicts. We would like to see India and Pakistan engage in constructive dialogue.
Source: Dawn News
