WASHINGTON: The US administration has highlighted Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif’s commitment to taking concrete measures against the Afghan Taliban while responding to the criticism that Pakistan is allowing militants to use its soil for attacks inside Afghanistan.

“We also recognise the importance of Pakistan’s chief of army staff’s recent directive to all commanders, intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies to take concrete measures against those who would attack Afghanistan,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.

At the State Department, deputy spokesman Mark Toner noted at a Wednesday afternoon news briefing that in his July 6 statement, Gen Sharif also directed Pakistani commanders and intelligence agencies to “deny any militant groups safe haven or the use of Pakistani soil to launch terrorist attacks in Afghanistan”.

“We certainly welcome (these) comments,” the spokesman said.

“We are continuing to address some of our concerns about where Pakistan needs to move next in terms of combating terrorist threats. We welcome, as I said, General Sharif’s comments and I would simply state that it is in the US’s long-term national interests to support Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism, violent extremism, and build a more stable and democratic society,” he said.

He was more explicit when asked to comment on the vicious criticism that Pakistan had to face at a congressional panel on Tuesday when lawmakers demanded cessation of all US assistance to Pakistan over its alleged support to Afghan Taliban extremists.

“We believe that Pakistan is taking steps to address terrorist violence, particularly focused on groups that threaten Pakistan’s stability,” he said.

At the congressional hearing, some lawmakers also suggested declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism and imposing economic sanctions if it continued to allow Afghan Taliban militants to use its territory.

“They have made progress shutting down terrorist safe havens. They’ve restored government control in many parts of Pakistan that have been used as terrorist safe havens for many years,” said Mr Toner.

The US official described these steps as “important and meaningful” and noted that they came at a cost, “and that cost is certainly in Pakistani lives”.

He recalled the Dec 16, 2014 terrorist attack when Taliban extremists killed 132 children and nine members of the staff at a school in Peshawar, and acknowledged that Pakistan had “suffered greatly from terrorism”.

But like US lawmakers, Mr Toner too emphasised the need for Pakistan to act against Afghan Taliban groups allegedly operating from its soil.

“We’ve been very clear that Pakistan must target all militant groups, including those that target Pakistan’s neighbours, and close all safe havens,” he said.

Stressing the need for greater cooperation in the fight against terrorism, Mr Toner said that last week Washington showed its commitment to helping Pakistan in this fight by eliminating a dangerous TTP terrorist, Umar Khalifa, in Afghanistan.

“Omar Khalifa, the leader of the Tariq Gidar Group – was responsible for some of the most heinous terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including the murder of over 130 children at the Peshawar army school,” he said.

“I would just simply say, without speaking to means or methods, this underscores the US commitment to combat terrorism in the region and the need for all countries in the region to equally combat extremism in all its forms.”

At the Pentagon, Press Secretary Cook said that Umar Khalifa and ‘four other enemy combatants” were killed in a joint US-Afghan airstrike in Nangarhar on July 9.

“While this strike was taken pursuant to US rules of engagement and counterterrorism interests, the specific relevance it has to Pakistan and Afghanistan’s security underscores the common security interests shared by the United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan on matters of terrorism,” Mr Cook said.

He noted that the United States was maintaining a robust counterterrorism partnership with Afghanistan and Pakistan and recognised “the sacrifices made on behalf of our respective militaries to pursue terrorists for the sake of regional peace and security.”

Like the State Department, the Pentagon also underscored the need for continued cooperation in the region for combating terrorism.

“Only through continued cooperation will we collectively succeed in eliminating terrorist safe havens in the region,” Mr Cook said.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2016