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Wednesday, October 9, 2024

US supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against terrorism

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US was aware of the NSC’s recent statement. He also said that Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism. 

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price has said that Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism.

The statement from the US comes after Interior Minister Rana Sanullah threatened to target the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in Afghanistan if Kabul does not take action to dismantle them.

The National Security Committee (NSC), under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has also asked the government in Kabul — without naming it — not to provide safe havens to terrorist groups on its soil.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US was aware of the NSC’s recent statement. He also said that Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism.

“The Pakistani people have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks. Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism,” Ned Price said.

Read more: US offers help to Pakistan in dealing with TTP threat & India

Ned Price said that the US calls on the Taliban to uphold the very commitment they have made to see to it that Afghan soil is never again used as a launchpad for international terrorist attacks.

“The Taliban have made commitments to the international community. But more importantly, they have made commitments to the Afghan people. Those are the commitments we care most about. Among the commitments, the Taliban have made but have repeatedly broken when it comes to their own people is an emphasis on human rights,” he stressed.

Pakistan vows to quash terrorism 

The Nat­ional Security Committee on Monday categorically asked Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, without directly naming them, to deny safe haven to Pakistani terrorist groups on its soil and end their patronage, while reiterating its intent to crush terrorist groups operating inside the country with full force.

“Pakistan’s security is uncompromisable and the full writ of the state will be maintained on every inch of the (sic) Pakistan’s territory,” the NSC said in a strongly worded statement.

“No country will be allowed to provide sanctuaries and facilitation to terrorists and Pakistan reserves all rights in that respect to safeguarding her people,” the NSC statement read.

Read more: Afghanistan and Pakistan-TTP negotiations