WASHINGTON: The United States (US) State Department has urged Pakistan to R20;shut down access to areas inside their borders to terrorists”;.
State Department Spokesperson John Kirby in a press briefing, when asked to comment on recent remarks by Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed on Pakistan, responded by saying, “I’m not going to dignify the comments of an avowed terrorist one way or the other.”;
“And we continue to work with Pakistan and continue to urge Pakistan to take steps to shut down access to areas inside their borders to terrorists, to terrorist individuals and to terrorist groups.”;
Earlier, during a State Department briefing in August, Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said, “We’ve been very clear with the highest levels of the government of Pakistan that they must target all militant groups, and that includes those that target Pakistan’s neighbours, and they must also close all safe havens.”;
“We obviously believe that Pakistan needs to do all it can to confront all terrorists operating on its soil,”; he said, adding, “We’ve seen it make progress; we want to see more progress on its part.”;
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan, during a joint session of parliament last week, was of the view that Pakistan was isolated because it gave freedom to non-state actors.
“The government has been completely unsuccessful in imposing restrictions on non-state actors according to the National Action Plan.”; During a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs last week, lawmakers of the opposition and the ruling party also questioned the role of members of banned outfits in the country.
