Afghanistan: Pakistan must be key partner in anti-terror efforts: State Department

20 Aug, 2016

The United States say that Pakistan is and must be a key partner in the efforts to eliminate terrorism from Afghanistan. Answering a question by an Indian journalist, state department spokesman John Kirby in a briefing on Thursday said Pakistan share a long border with Afghanistan and they share common threats and common challenges. And there have been times when Pakistan and Afghanistan didn't see eye to eye on every issue, and there have been times when they have found ways to work together. And we continue to stress the importance of a strong bilateral relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan."
To a question, the spokesman said Afghanistan is not a country that continues to face a very real threat from terrorism as groups like Daesh are trying to expand their influence in the country. John Kirby said they know that not every member of the Taliban has and is willing to embrace the political process moving forward. "That's why it's important that the United States continue to make clear our intention and our support of a strong, sovereign, secure, stable Afghanistan. He said the US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with both President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah just on Thursday morning about the importance of continuing to move forward with the political and economic reforms that they're trying to enact.

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