The United States said that Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism as the country has suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks. During a news briefing, US State Department spokesman Ned Price was asked if Pakistan could launch military operations inside Afghanistan to eliminate the TTP. Price said the Afghan Taliban must uphold the commitment they made to not allow the use of Afghan soil as a launchpad for international attacks. “These are among the very commitments that the Taliban have been unable or unwilling to fulfil to date,” he said. The statement from the US comes after Interior Minister Rana Sanullah threatened to target the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in Afghanistan if Kabul does not take action to dismantle them.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in terror incidents, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, during the past couple of months after the TTP declared to end the ceasefire with Pakistan. “We’re aware of the recent statement by the Pakistani National Security Committee,” the US State Department’s spokesman Ned Price said. “The Pakistani people have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks. Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism.” Price said that the US calls on the Taliban to uphold the very commitment they have made to see to it that Afghan soil is never again used as a launchpad for international terrorist attacks. “These are among the very commitments that the Taliban have been unable or unwilling to fulfil to date,” he said.
