United States Department of State Spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that terrorist networks pose threats to both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“That’s why we still have a counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan,” he said while addressing a press briefing.
“This is a shared, common enemy to the people of Afghanistan and to the people of Pakistan, and they have been working and communicating together, and we (US) want to see that kind of dialogue and co-operation to continue and to improve,” he said.
Kirby’s remarks came a day after an editorial in the New York Times blamed Pakistan for the “mess in Afghanistan.” Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani rejected the editorial, saying that it was the collective failure of the international community.
On the issue of opening Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the spokesman said that US wants to see it open and would like to see both Pakistan and Afghanistan work through their differences.
Responding to a question about the earlier stress in Pak- US relationships, he said it was an important, vital relationship that the United States strongly believes in.
“Is it complicated at times? Absolutely, it is. And do we see eye-to-eye on every issue with Pakistan? No, we don’t. But that’s why the relationship matters so much, because we have shared threats and shared concerns, shared interest in the region, and we’re going to continue to work at it,” he added.
CERTAIN CONDITIONS FOR US MILITARY AID:
Earlier the US State Department had said that vital members of the US Congress are not prepared to support military aid to Pakistan unless it takes specific actions against designated terrorists and the Obama administration is bound to follow their decision.
“Key members of Congress have been clear they’re not prepared to support US military aid to Pakistan absent some specific actions,” Elizabeth Trudeau, a State Department’s official, said at a daily press briefing on Thursday.
In response to the question, Trudeau pointed out that the Obama administration also wanted Pakistan to act against the Haqqani network.
United States has already conveyed its views on the Haqqani network to Pakistan and the country knows what to do, the official added.
“Pakistan has spoken that they will not discriminate against groups. We could encourage them to continue to live up to that,” she said in response to a question on whether the US was willing to certify that Pakistan is taking enough action against Haqqani Network.
Trudeau further said that the Obama administration was committed to working with Congress to deliver security assistance to its partners and allies for furthering the US goals by building capacity to meet shared security challenges.
The statement coincided with Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz telling the lawmakers in Senate that the relations between Islamabad and Washington have been on a downward spiral over the past three months.
