PESHAWAR -  A senior Trump administration official has once again asked Pakistan to clear its territory of externally-focused terrorist organisations.
Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells called for Pakistan to address the continuing presence of the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups on its soil.
A statement from the US embassy: “Ambassador Wells urged the government of Pakistan to address the continuing presence of the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups within its territory,”
During her two-day visit, she told her interlocutors in Islamabad that the US wanted to shift to a “new relationship with Pakistan” based on “mutual interest”.
While supporting a continuation of its relationship with the US, Pakistan said the ties could progress towards normalisation only if there were mutual trust and respect.
Wells suggested to Pakistani leaders that enhanced intelligence cooperation could provide the basis for improvement in relations, especially in counterterrorism cooperation.
Ambassador Wellsm during a brief talk with a small group of journalists at the US embassy on Tuesday, Wells said: “There can be no good or bad terrorists.”
She also spoke about the projects being funded by the US in Pakistan, the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) and professional and constructive meetings that she held a day earlier.
The diplomat made clear Washington was averse to efforts to foment separatism inside Pakistan. “We don’t support Baloch separatism,” she added.
Wells added the US would not support the use of Afghan soil as a base for hostile acts against Pakistan.  About the Taliban and the Haqqani network, she said the US opposed the use of terrorist proxies by any country.
She said the US wanted Islamabad to launch a crackdown on groups trying to destabilise Afghanistan, just like the “extraordinary” fight against the Pakistan Taliban and JamaatulArhar.
Washington’s aim was to find a political settlement in Afghanistan and that was where the US expected Pakistan to play its role, the visiting dignitary said. (Pajhwok)