State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner has said that the US has conveyed to Pakistan that they need to pursue actively terrorist organisations that are allegedly using their soil, their territory to find refuge.
“We have been very clear-eyed and very clear in our interaction with Pakistan where we’ve believed that they need to do more to root out terrorists, as I said, who find safe haven on some of their territory, and we are going to continue to do that,” said the deputy spokesperson during a press briefing the other day.
Toner responding to questions on Pakistan hitting out at the US for launching the drone strike on its soil to kill Mansour, describing it as a “violation of its sovereignty”.
He further said that the US will continue to share intelligence and other information with Pakistan, to point out where they believe that terrorists are finding safe haven.
Regarding a question about expectations from Haqqanis and the Afghan peace process, he reiterated US stance that Taliban should join afghan reconciliation process, saying that Mansour “represented an effort to rekindle the war, rekindle the conflict, re-stoke the violence in Afghanistan, and was not interested in pursuing peace.”
“We believe that an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process is the way ultimately to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan.”
When asked if the Barack Obama government trusts Pakistan when it comes to the war against terrorism, the spokesperson said that U.S. has always been clear with Islamabad regarding its terror policy and that operational security trumps a need to inform other governments prior to a mission.
When asked about contacts with Iranian officials on the matter, Toner said that there were reports that Mansour had ventured into Iran but it is all about the clarity on the matter.
“We’ve also seen reports he was carrying a fake Pakistani passport. Our major concern is that a major threat to our military on the ground in Afghanistan has been removed from the battlefield,” he added.
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