WASHINGTON: The US State Department strongly urged Pakistan on Thursday to prevent Hafiz Saeed from moving freely in the country, freeze the assets of the groups associated with him and stop allowing Lashkar-e-Taiba from acquiring weapons.
The State Department, however, welcomed the trilateral summit of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying that it was in keeping with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s new Silk Road initiative.
“The US government is concerned about the recent public appearances of Jamaatud Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed, including at a recent rally in Karachi,” said the department’s spokesperson Victoria Nuland.
At an earlier briefing Ms Nuland was asked to give US reaction to the Difaa-i-Pakistan Council’s rally in Karachi and was also asked if the United States had raised its concerns with the Pakistani government on this issue.
Instead of an oral response, she issued a written statement on Thursday, reminding Pakistan of its responsibilities to curb the activities of groups like LeT and Jamaatud Dawa and its leaders.
“Lashkar-e-Taiba, and its front group Jamaatud Dawa, are internationally sanctioned because of their associations with Al Qaeda. We have and continue to urge the government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1267/1989,” she said.
She recalled that this resolution called for all countries to “freeze assets of sanctioned groups, prevent the transfer of arms to them, and prevent sanctioned individuals from entering or transiting their territories”.
Responding to a question on a trilateral summit Pakistan was hosting in Islamabad, the State Department official said the US had objections to Iran’s nuclear programme and to its support for terrorism.
“And we want Iran to come clean on its obligations, but we have not opposed regional trade of food and other items,” she said.
“We want good neighbourly relations in the region, and if there are any difficult questions to be asked from Iran, these two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) should ask those,” she said.
The US, she said, wanted all regional players to play a role in making reconciliation talks between Taliban and Afghan officials a success.
The success of reconciliation talks, she noted, would primarily depend on “encouraging Afghans to talk to Afghans”.
Ms Nuland also noted that Iran had recently participated in international conferences on reconciliation, which was a positive gesture.
She pointed out that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had also made positive remarks about these reconciliation efforts.
The US official said that Taliban leaders had issued various statements on these talks but she could not confirm the authenticity of those remarks.
The United States, she said, wanted to build trust and was encouraging Taliban and Afghan officials to come to the negotiation table.
“All these efforts are at a very preliminary level, and all parties are involved in it,” said the US official while refusing to comment on media reports that these talks were taking place with the consent of Mullah Omer.
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