WASHINGTON: The United States said that Pakistan had gone after militant groups selectively and urged Islamabad to eliminate all groups, even those that might not threaten Pakistan itself but threaten its neighbours.
US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said during a media briefing, “Pakistan has taken and is taking steps to counter militant violence, and certainly focusing on those groups that threaten its stability.” He admitted that Pakistan had restored government control to those parts of the country that were once used as militant safe havens.
He said that these steps had contributed to the security interests in the region and they came at a cost of Pakistani lives lost. “But at the same time, they must target all militant groups including those that target Pakistan’s neighbours, and they must also close all safe havens,” the spokesman said.
He said, “They’re going after groups, but selectively.” He further said, “We need to see them go after even those groups that might not threaten Pakistan itself but threaten its neighbours.” Speaking with regard to the proposed joint efforts against militancy in the region, he said that the US encouraged a regional dialogue between Pakistan and India regarding the counter-militancy efforts.
He said, “We advocate for closer cooperation between India and Pakistan to deal with terrorist threats in both their countries.” He added that militancy was obviously a reality in both the countries (Pakistan and India), and in order to effectively confront it, they need to work together.
Asked about a quadrilateral counter-militancy alliance formed by China in association with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, he said, “We don’t view it as counterproductive that China pursues closer ties – certainly in the security and counter-militancy fields with Central Asian countries.”
Acknowledging that there were a lot of problems to be addressed, he said, “We certainly don’t view any effort to more closely coordinate among those countries all of whom are affected by militancy in the region. We, in fact, view it as a positive.”
