Pakistan needs to deny safe haven to terrorists, says US

WASHINGTON: The United States has stressed on the need for Pakistan to not differentiate between terror groups based on their agenda or affiliation, asking it to ensure there are no safe havens for terrorists in the country.

“We have consistently raised our concerns to the highest level of the government of Pakistan on the need to deny safe haven to extremists,” the state department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters on Thursday.

“We have pressed the government of Pakistan to follow up on their expressed commitment, their stated commitment, to not discriminate among terror groups regardless of their agenda or affiliation,” she said.

Trudeau drew the attention to what Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif had said that they would not discriminate.

The terrorist attack on the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul is against the best and brightest of Afghanistan and “is a sign that we can all do

more”, she said.

“As we have in the past, we encourage the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan to work together, not only in the wake of this attack and to ensure that such attacks don’t happen again, but to increase their cooperation

countering violent extremism at large,” Trudeau said.

Sixteen people were killed after militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan on Wednesday evening, in a nearly 10-hour raid.