WASHIGNTON: The United States has offered to assist Pakistan with the current unfolding situation (of siege of CTD Station in Bannu) or more broadly, adding that Government of Pakistan is a partner when it comes to these shared challenges, including the challenge of terrorist groups – terrorist groups inside of Afghanistan, terrorist groups along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
Responding to questions regarding possibilities of over-the-horizon or under-the-horizon drones coming back to the region and targeting these terrorist groups, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told the press briefing that the US was aware of the ongoing situation in Pakistan.
“We’ve been closely following reports that militants have seized control of the counterterrorism center in Bannu,” he said, adding that ” we urge those responsible for the attack to cease all acts of violence, to safely release those who remain hostage, and to end the seizure of the counterterrorism center. Of course we refer you to the Government of Pakistan for details on this ongoing situation. But the broader point is that the Government of Pakistan is a partner when it comes to these shared challenges, including the challenge of terrorist groups – terrorist groups inside of Afghanistan, terrorist groups along the Afghan-Pakistan border.”
Ned Price said “we have partnered with our Pakistani friends to take on – to help them take on this challenge. We stand ready to assist, whether with this unfolding situation or more broadly. But this is a situation for which we’d have to refer you to Pakistani authorities.”
When asked to comment about Foreign Minister Bilawal’s comment, calling Indian PM Modi as “butcher of Gujarat” in New York, the State Department spokesperson said “we have a global strategic partnership with India. I have just spoken to the depth of our partnership with Pakistan. These relationships stand on their own; it is not zero-sum. We see the importance – the indispensability really – of maintaining valuable partnerships with both our Indian and our Pakistani friends. Each of these relationships is – we don’t view them in relation to the other. Each of these relationships also happens to be multifaceted.”
He further said “so even as we deepen our global strategic partnership with India, we are also – we also have a relationship in which we can be candid and frank with one another. Where we have disagreements or concerns, we voice those just as we would with our Pakistani friends as well.”
However, responding to another question, Ned Price said ” the fact that we have partnerships with both countries makes us – of course leaves us not wanting to see a war of words between India and Pakistan. We would like to see constructive dialogue between India and Pakistan. We think that is for the betterment of the Pakistani people, for the Indian people. There is much work that we can do together bilaterally. There are differences that, of course, need to be addressed between India and Pakistan. The United States stands ready to assist as a partner to both.”
