Indicating that it expects Pakistan to go after the perpetrators of the Pathankot terrorist attack, the United States has sought to remind Islamabad of its pledge to go after all militant groups without discrimination and clear out the safe havens for them on its territory.
“We’ve been clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that it must continue to target all militant groups,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters, noting that the Pakistan Government itself has said publicly and privately that it’s not going to discriminate among terrorist groups as part of its counterterrorism operations.
“The Government of Pakistan has spoken has spoken very powerfully to this,” Kirby said, adding: “It’s certainly our expectation that they’ll treat this exactly the way they’ve said they will.”
The White House, meanwhile, made a subtle and nuanced pitch on proceeding with the recent Indo-Pak peace moves, noting that “warmer relations” will be in the interests of both countries, yet leaving it to the leaders of the two nations to decide what is best for them.
“The United States certainly believes that warmer relations and more cooperation between the government of India and the government of Pakistan would in the interests of both countries,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, adding: “But ultimately the leaders of those countries will have to decide for themselves.”
At the State Department, spokesman Kirby, when asked if Pakistan was taking enough action against India-centric terror outfits like lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, said: “We all recognize this is a fluid threat. It’s one that you could probably never do enough to get at. So we want to see the Government of Pakistan continue to press the fight against terrorists, all terrorists, and as I said, to meet their own expectations that they’re not going to discriminate among groups.”
“They’ve said that themselves, and our expectation is that they’ll live up to that pledge,” he said, adding: “But we recognize there’s more everybody can do – not just Pakistan, but every nation in the region can do – because it is a shared challenge.”