‘Defence ties with Pakistan in US interest’

State Dept acknowledges Pak efforts against terrorism

WASHINGTON: The defence cooperation with Pakistan is in the US interests as the US security assistance to Pakistan contributes to counter-terrorism operations, a State Department spokesman said on Friday.

The statement said the country was an important partner of the US in the region in achieving a stable and secure Afghanistan.At a regular press briefing at the State Department,Sspokesman Mark Toner said counter-terrorism operations by Pakistan reduced the ability of militants to use the Pakistani territory to carry out terrorist attacks and as a base of support for insurgency in Afghanistan.

“So we believe these operations are in the interest of both Pakistan and the United States and in the interest of the region more broadly,” he said.The spokesman refused to confirm a report published in a US newspaper about a letter by a US senator regarding the F-16 sale to Pakistan and said the State Department did not comment on proposed arms sales transfers or even preliminary consultations with the Capitol Hill prior to any formal congressional notification.

“We are committed to working with Congress to deliver security assistance to our partners and our allies that we believe furthers US foreign capacity to meet shared security challenges,” he said.

To a question, he said no country in the region had been more touched by terrorism than Pakistan. “We believe it’s in our vital national security interests to support Pakistan in carrying out its efforts to destroy these terrorist networks and we believe it’s an important partner in the region in achieving a stable and secure Afghanistan.”

He welcomed Pakistan’s efforts to support Afghan-led reconciliation talks, referring to the Heart of Asia ministerial conference, recently held in Islamabad and two of the first three meetings of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, which is discussing the reconciliation efforts with Taliban.