Pakistan is carrying out a sustained military campaign against all militants without any discrimination, a Pakistan Embassy spokesman said on Thursday, rejecting insinuations that it was facilitating any terrorist group. "Pakistan has been most actively engaged in a sustained military campaign aimed at rooting out the menace in a non-discriminatory fashion," the embassy spokesman in Washington said while commenting on a news report carried out by Wall Street Journal regarding proposed sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan.
The report said that a Republican Senator had expressed reservations about the sale of fighter aircraft to Pakistan, accusing the country of providing safe havens to the leaders of the Haqqani network. "Insinuations of facilitating the destabilizing role of Haqqani network in Afghanistan in any way indeed unfortunate," the spokesman said drawing attention to Pakistan's role as a frontline state in the global fight against terrorism.
"Sacrifice rendered by Pakistan's security forces in operation Zarb-e-Azb have been accorded global recognition and appreciation - including at the senior levels of US Administration," the spokesman added. Describing the report as carrying a misleading headline on the sale of F-16s to Pakistan, the spokesman said "We understand that the deal has not been blocked but there are reservations regarding the financial aspect." "The Congress has been consistently supportive in building Pakistan's counterterrorism capabilities of which 'precision strike capability' is an important pillar. F-16s have proven to be the most potent vehicle for conducting precision strikes against terrorists," the spokesman said.
He said that counterterrorism lied at the heart of cooperation under existing Defence Cooperation Framework between Pakistan and the United States. "We intend to continue engaging constructively with the US side to address specific concerns," the spokesman said while adding that Pak-US relationship is characterised by resilience and would continue to flourish." Pakistan's role in combating global terrorism had been highly appreciated by President Barack Obama during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the United States in October last year.
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