The United States is not ‘walking away from Pakistan’ as they have taken ‘initial constrictive steps’ against terrorists however those steps aren’t yet irreversible, a state department official told The Hindu in an interview.
Alice Wells, U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, said that the Abbasi government’s move to designate U.N. recognised terrorists like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad under Pakistan’s domestic laws, as well as a crackdown on charities run by the LeT are “positive steps”.
She also said that Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa’s comments on ending proxy terrorist groups ]is a welcome statement too.
“I was heartened by the press comments by General Bajwa where he said things like the ‘state must have the monopoly on violence’, and there is ‘no role for non-state actors’…. Those are extremely positive statements and now I think the challenge is to see them implemented. We are certainly in a very good faith conversation with Pakistan,” Ms. Wells told The Hindu in an exclusive interview to during her visit to Delhi, where she met with senior MEA and PMO officials on national security.
