News
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Pakistan not state sponsor of terrorism: US
WASHINGTON: Pakistan is America’s partner in the fight against terrorism and the two countries will continue to work together in combating the menace, the US State Department said.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland dismissed the suggestion that discussions on terrorist organisations like the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba being able to operate on the Pakistani soil implied that the key South Asian country was a state sponsor of terrorism.
“Our view is that Pakistan is a partner in our fight against terror, and we’re going to continue to work together. We believe it is in our interest and it’s in the interest of Pakistan that we continue to strengthen our cooperation and collaboration,” she said. Nuland was answering a series of questions, following Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s remarks about the two organisations’ alleged links in Pakistan.
“I think Secretary Panetta spoke of our concern over how these two organisations operate and any relationship that they may have with Pakistan, which is a subject that we talk about with Pakistan, which is a different issue than a state being a sponsor of terrorism itself,” she explained.
The spokesperson said Panetta’s remarks did not suggest that the two organisations had relationship with the Pakistani government as she responded with a “no” when asked directly if the comments meant that. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk