US diplomat Sherman meets Pakistani FM, condoles over deaths amid rising militant attacks

ISLAMABAD: US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman met Pakistan's foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Washington on Wednesday and offered condolences for Pakistani lives lost in recent militant attacks, said the State Department in an official statement.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of an operation that Pakistani forces launched on Tuesday to regain control of a counterterrorism department (CTD) complex in the northwestern city of Bannu where militants of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had created a hostage situation. After holding negotiations with the militants, the army commandoes stormed the facility and took back control.

According to the Pakistan military, security forces took out 25 militants and arrested 10 others. Three soldiers were also killed during the operation. 

Apart from that, clashes erupted between the border forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan near the key Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing last week, which claimed multiple civilian lives while injuring others.

“The Deputy Secretary expressed condolences for Pakistani lives lost in recent terrorist attacks,” the state department said after Sherman's meeting with Bhutto-Zardari, “and [the two officials] committed to strengthening counterterrorism cooperation between the two nations.”

The Pakistani foreign minister, who was on an official week-long visit to the US, appreciated the remarks of the deputy secretary and said that the two had a "productive" meeting.

“Appreciate US support for flood relief, [rehabilitation and reconstruction],” he said in a Twitter post. “[Pakistan and the United States] will continue to work together to further enhance & diversify bilateral relations, promote peace & stability in the region.”

Earlier this week, the US said it was ready to “assist” Pakistan broadly against terrorism challenges, stating that the government of Pakistan was a partner when it came to shared challenges, “including the challenge of terrorist groups – terrorist groups inside of Afghanistan, terrorist groups along the Afghan-Pakistan border.”

Aside from the issue of militancy, the two officials also discussed Pakistan’s continuing efforts to recover from the devastating floods that killed more than 1,700 people since mid-June and affected 33 million people.

They also discussed the Afghan Taliban’s decision to further restrict women’s and girls’ access to education as well as efforts to hold the Taliban to its commitments regarding the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.