WASHINGTON: The United States is strongly committed to supporting Pakistan in its anti-terrorism efforts and would continue to work hard at the bilateral relationship which is very important to overcome common challenges, a State Department Spokesman said on Thursday.
At a daily briefing, Spokesman John Kirby said that nothing was going to change about the US strong commitment to supporting Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate terrorists threats in the border areas and throughout Pakistan. He was replying to a question regarding news reports about plans to discontinue Coalition Support Funds.
“Bilaterally, we are still going to continue to work very hard at this relationship which we know is very important,” he said and added that there were common challenges in the region and that “we want to continue to work with Pakistan” to combat.
He said Pakistan has also paid a heavy price as the country lost civilians and soldiers at the hands of terrorists, and nothing is going to change in US relationship with Pakistan.
Responding to a question on the Haqqani network, the spokesman said that the Pakistan’s government has made it clear that it does not differentiate between militants.
“This is the commitment from their Prime Minister that they will not allow Pakistan’s soil to be used as safe havens for militants to attack other countries,” he added. He said the United States welcomed the consensus at the highest level in Pakistan in combating all sorts of terrorism.
To a question on upcoming talks between Pakistan and India, scheduled for next week, the spokesman said that the United States wants to see the tensions reduced between the two countries.
He reiterated his country’s position on the dispute over Kashmir, saying that it was the matter for Pakistan and India to work out.
