KABUL - Pakistan and Afghanistan face a common threat from terrorist networks, the State Department said on Saturday, stressing an improvement in dialogue and cooperation between the neighbours.
“Terrorist networks continue to use safe havens, posing threats to both Pakistan and Afghanistan. This is a shared, common enemy to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the department’s spokesman told reporters in Washington.
At a regular media briefing, John Kirby the US maintained a counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan and continued to work with the government of Pakistan to address the terrorist threat. Washington shared information with Islamabad in this regard, he added.
Kirby said Pakistan and Afghanistan had been working together and communicating to address the threats posed by insurgents. “We want to see that kind of dialogue and cooperation continue and improve,” the spokesman continued.
Ties between Pakistan and the United States were ‘complicated at times’, he admitted, but Washington still viewed the relationship as vital. “Is it complicated? Absolutely, it is. Do we see eye-to-eye with Pakistan on every issue? No, we don’t.”
However, he said the two sides had shared threats and shared concerns, and a shared interest in the region. And that was why the relationship mattered a lot, he explained. (Pajhwok)