The Pentagon has said that the US has a common interest with Pakistan in not allowing terrorists to become safe havens along its border with Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters during an off-camera gaggle on Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the US has discussed with Pakistan ways it can help keep the border safer and more stable. and contribute to a secure future. for Afghanistan.
Taliban militants have captured dozens of districts and major border crossings in recent weeks and are now believed to control nearly a third of Afghanistan, ahead of the withdrawal of US and Western troops from the country by September 11. Under a deal with the Taliban, the US and its NATO allies agreed to withdraw all troops in exchange for the militants’ commitment to preventing extremist groups from operating in areas under their control.
“Our message to Pakistanis continues to be that we believe we have common interests here, common interests in not allowing those safe havens, and we continue to talk to Pakistanis about ways that collectively Visually, we can all see improvement there,” Kirby said. “But as far as what the Pakistanis are doing or not doing and operating in, this is something they should be talking about, not us,” he said, asking whether the Pentagon had seen any evidence that the Pakistani Air Force had Has helped the Taliban gain land, especially in Kandahar province.
Kirby said, “We believe that a stable, secure Afghanistan, Pakistan has a stake in the long border there, and we have long recognized that the border between those two countries has been used in the past for some of these purposes.” Terrorist groups, including the Taliban, and Pakistanis themselves have been victims of terrorist attacks from that border area.” The US, he said, has been very clear and upfront about the challenges on that frontier. “The Pakistani people, they also understand the danger they are under, and the need to not let there be a safe haven (for terrorists),” he said.
“Our mission in Afghanistan is to meet this drawdown and reach a point where our force presence is designed to protect our diplomats and our diplomatic mission,” Kirby said. The US has already pulled back most of its forces.
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