US says PM Sharif’s decision to cancel visit completely understandable

• State Department spokesperson says US stands with the government and people of Pakistan
• Assistant Secretary of State Tom Countryman says Pakistan takes security of its nuclear material and arsenals “very seriously”

The decision by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to cancel US visit is completely understandable, a State Department spokesman said on Monday and described the Lahore attack as a ‘lash out’ from a group under pressure from the ongoing military operation by the Pakistani security forces.

At a press briefing in Washington, spokesman John Kirby condemned the horrific attack on innocent people and said that the United States was committed to help Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the US stands with the people and the government of Pakistan at this difficult hour.

When asked to comment on the cancellation of visit by Prime Minister Sharif, he said that “given what just happened, it’s completely understandable why he would want to stay at home”.

US officials also praised Pakistan for its efforts to safeguard its nuclear material and weapons and said the country has taken important steps forward in providing that security.

PAKISTAN TAKES NUCLEAR SECURITY ‘VERY SERIOUSLY’:

US officials have praised Pakistan for taking important steps to safeguard its nuclear material and weapons.

Responding to questions at a special briefing on the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit being held in Washington, Assistant Secretary of State Tom Countryman said that with regard to safety and security of its nuclear weapons and material, Pakistan was taking its responsibility very seriously.

“Without question, Pakistan takes very seriously its responsibility to provide security for both nuclear material and nuclear weapons. And as a consequence of this summit process as well as of our bilateral cooperation, they’ve taken important steps forward in providing that security, the official said on Monday.

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, the State Department lead on the Nuclear Security Summit who coordinates activities to the four-year effort to secure all vulnerable material, who jointly addressed the briefing, said that Pakistan has been part of the Nuclear Security Summit from the very beginning.

“We’re very happy that they have been part of the process and part of the discussions on securing nuclear material, and we know that they take that issue seriously,” she added.

The ambassador said that she travelled to Pakistan a couple of weeks ago to visit the center of excellence where the International Atomic Energy Agency hosted a meeting for the Nuclear Security Support Center Network. It’s a network of centers of excellence who want to work together and learn from each other and share best practices.

The ambassador said that she had very successful meetings and added that it showed what Pakistan was doing in terms of training individuals on issues of nuclear security.

She also noted that Pakistan recently ratified the amendment for the Convention on Physical Protection which, she said, was very helpful to try to move that convention even closer to the point where it can enter into force.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was to represent Pakistan at the summit, cancelled his visit due to a terrorist attack in Lahore, which killed more than 70 people, including women and children.

TALIBAN ARE STILL A THREAT:

To a question Kirby said that the Pakistani security forces continue to put pressure on TTP, which has claimed responsibility for the attack and “as groups like this get put under pressure, it is somewhat to be expected that they will look for ways to lash out”.

But, he added, that the TTP is still a dangerous group and the threat they pose has to be taken very seriously. However, he said, unlike Daesh, the TTP is not a self-proclaimed caliphate. “They weren’t and haven’t tried to sort of set up an alternate governing structure or to take over the government of Pakistan.”

“So they’re different groups, different goals, different objectives, but obviously still the same deadly means of carrying out the violence,” he added. Asked to give his assessment about the security situation in Pakistan, he said there was no doubt that Pakistan continues to be under threat from terrorists inside their own country.

He said Pakistan takes that threat very seriously and they don’t need to be reminded of the danger from terrorism inside Pakistan. The spokesman said that the United States’ commitment to Pakistan remained unchanged and it would do what it can to help deal with this threat.

“It’s not just a Pakistani threat. It’s a regional threat; it’s a global threat in many ways,” he said and added the United States stands by the people of Pakistan right now and we also stand by our commitment to assist Pakistan going forward.

About the claims by the group that the Christians were targeted, the spokesman said there was no indication that their claim of responsibility was false.

“But this is all going to be investigated by Pakistanis. And that I didn’t mention in my statement that this was specifically targeted against Christians on Easter Sunday was as much a fact – much an indication of the fact that it had just happened and we didn’t know that much about the attack at the outset,” he added.

US CONDEMNS ATTACK:

US has strongly denounced the suicide attack in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park Lahore and said it stands with the people and government of Pakistan at this difficult hour.

During media briefing in Washington State Department spokesman John Kirby said the US condemns in the strongest terms the appalling terrorist attack in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore that killed dozens and left scores injured.

We condole with the family members of victims of this blast, he said, and added that “attacks like these only deepen our shared resolve to defeat terrorism around the world, and we’re going to continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism”.

He said that nothing’s changed about the US commitment to do what they can to help Pakistan deal with this threat.

“We stand by the people of Pakistan right now and we also stand by our commitment to assist Pakistan going forward.”