The United States has welcomed Pakistan’s reported move to clamp down on militant outfits including the Afghan Haqqani network and Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), saying that banning the organisations would be an important step toward eliminating terrorist activity.
“We welcome reports that the Government of Pakistan plans to outlaw the Haqqani Network, Jamaatud Dawa, and I think 10 other organisations linked to violent extremism,” said Marie Harf, Deputy Spokesperson at the State Department, while commenting on Islamabad’s plan to ban the two militant groups.
Speaking at a briefing hosted by Washington’s Foreign Press Centre, the spokesperson called the decision “an important step toward eliminating terrorist activity in Pakistan”.
Earlier during the daily briefing, Harf said, “I know this was just an announcement that this is going to happen. I don’t have more details on when it might.”
On Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan this week, the spokesperson said the chief American diplomat had a “very good” visit during which he discussed counterterrorism, along with how the two sides could work more closely.
“Obviously, the Secretary (Kerry) was just there and had a wide-ranging conversation with the Pakistanis about counterterrorism, certainly. He emphasized that we’re committed to deepening our security partnership with Pakistan, and obviously had many conversations with Prime Minister (Nawaz) Sharif and others,” Harf concluded.
