The United States State Department on Wednesday urged Pakistan to "shut down access to areas inside their borders to terrorists." State Department Spokesperson John Kirby in a press briefing, when asked to comment on recent remarks by Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed on Pakistan, responded by saying, "I am not going to dignify the comments of an avowed terrorist one way or the other."
He added, "We continue to work with Pakistan and continue to urge Pakistan to take steps to shut down access to areas inside their borders to terrorists, to terrorist individuals and to terrorist groups." The US has previously also asked Pakistan to take action against militancy.