The spokesperson for United States (US) State Department John Kirby has said that no decisions have been made with respect to decertification of counter-terrorism support fund to Pakistan which would stop US military aid to fight against terrorism.
Replying to a question, Kirby said that the matter pertained to the Department of Defence but from the State Department’s perspective, it is important to help Pakistan deal with this “very real threat inside their own borders, and the border area writ large”.
“From the State Department, nothing’s changed about our strong commitment to supporting Pakistan’s effort to eliminate terrorist threats in the border area and throughout Pakistan. We welcome the consensus from the highest levels of the Pakistani government about the importance of combating all terrorists,” he said when asked if decertification would complicate diplomatic relations with Pakistan, especially ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington to meet with US President Obama and also in terms of efforts to help secure the region along the Afghan border.
The US spokesman said, “Bilaterally, we’re still going to continue to work very hard at this relationship, which we know is very important. It is complicated but there are common challenges in the region that we want to continue to work with Pakistan to combat.”
Kirby said it is important to remember that Pakistan has also paid a heavy price because of terrorism inside their borders. “They’ve lost civilians and citizens. They’ve lost soldiers. It’s not a theoretical exercise for them, terrorists; it’s right there. And we’re going to continue to work with them on that.”
About Haqqani Network, Kirby said they have raised the issue regularly as part of their engagement with the Pakistan government. He said Pakistan has made it clear that it does not differentiate between militants. He said this is a commitment from Pakistan’s prime minister that they will not allow Pakistani soil to be used as a safe haven for militants to attack other countries.
