ISLAMABAD: The United States said on Monday it had promised to provide technical assistance to Pakistan along its western border to deal with the threat of militant violence in the recent round of Counterterrorism Dialogue between the two countries held earlier this month.
The dialogue was initiated after the United States moved against the Taliban administration in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks, aiming to provide a bilateral forum to both countries to address mutual concerns over militant violence.
The most recent phase of the dialogue took place on May 10 where Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary for the United Nations Syed Haider Shah co-chaired the meeting with US State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Elizabeth Richards.
“We confirmed with Pakistan today our bilateral intention to increase our capacity to meet emerging threats, specifically to increase communication on terrorism – specifically terrorism trends and movements of concern – in a way that is not just actionable within Pakistan but also an area that is actionable between our two countries,” State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a media briefing.
“We also agreed about preventing and deterring terrorist groups and the work that can be done in that place, such as counter-IED [improvised explosive device] investigations, technical assistance at Pakistan’s western border, and other issues.”
The latest round of the Counterterrorism Dialogue was held against the backdrop of a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan by a proscribed network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leadership is reportedly based in neighboring Afghanistan.
Officials in Islamabad have frequently complained in recent months the Afghan interim administration in Kabul is not doing enough to clamp down on TTP militants and prevent them from launching attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was contingent upon several guarantees from the Taliban, one of which was that the Taliban would not allow any group or individual to use Afghan soil to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
The agreement was signed in February 2020 in Doha, Qatar, and included commitments by the Taliban to sever ties with militant organizations like Al Qaeda.
The State Department official was also asked about a drone attack in South Waziristan in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this week that killed at least four villagers. However, he did not answer the question.
“I don’t have anything for you on that,” he said. “I’d refer you to my colleagues at the Pentagon.”
