No treaty of alliance with Pakistan, nor is Islamabad a technical ally: White House
- Remarks come in backdrop of Pakistan's appeal to global community over emerging terrorist threats from Afghanistan
The United States has said that Pakistan was never a technical ally of the United States and that “there was no treaty of alliance with Islamabad”.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby’s remarks came after a journalist asked if the Biden administration was making any efforts concerning Pakistan’s appeal to the global community over the “mess in Afghanistan, regrouping of al-Qaida, IS, Taliban, TTP and all those terrorist groups” during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“Well, first, I’d – as you know, Pakistan was never a technical ally of the United States,” Kirby said.
“I mean, there was no treaty of alliance with Pakistan.
“But certainly, over many, many years in the last couple of decades, we partnered with Pakistan as appropriate to deal with the terrorist threat that still exists on that spine between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And we recognize that Pakistan is still – still the Pakistani people fall victim to terrorist violence coming from across that border.
“We recognize that. And we have and for as long as we’ll be in office here remain committed to working with Pakistan to address those common threats and challenges. And that’s not – that hasn’t changed. It’s not going to change.”
US asks Kabul to conduct itself responsibly
The remarks come in the backdrop of the US urging Taliban to ensure terrorist attacks are not launched from Afghan soil.
“I’ll first say that, of course, the Pakistani people have suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists and terrorists. We have a shared interest with the Pakistani people and the Government of Pakistan in combating threats to regional security,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller had said in a presser last year.
“That has been a priority for us in engagements with them, and it continues to be.”
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