US in talks with Pakistan over ‘terrorist safe havens’ along Afghan border

US on Tuesday stated that Washington was in conversation with Pakistani leadership about the alleged “safe havens that exist along that border between Afghanistan and Pakistan”.

Addressing reporters during a press briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary John F Kirby said that US was mindful that those safe havens were providing a source of more insecurity, more instability inside Afghanistan.

“And we’re not bashful about having that discussion with Pakistani leaders. We’re also mindful that Pakistan and the Pakistani people also are victim to terrorist activities that emanate from that same region,” he added.

He further said that all the three countries have a shared sense of the importance of closing down those safe havens and not allowing them to be used by the Taliban or other terrorist networks to sow discord.

“And again, we’re having that conversation with the Pakistanis all the time,” Kirby said.

In response to a question in India and Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace process, the Pentagon press secretary said that the US wants all neighboring countries to not take actions that make the situation in Afghanistan more dangerous than it is already.

He further said that Washington wants regional players “to continue to try to use international pressure to get a negotiated peaceful political settlement to this war”.

Speaking about India’s role in Afghanistan, he said he was not aware of discussions between the US and India bilaterally, at the UN level.

Kirby also expressed ‘deep concern’ for the security situation in Afghanistan.

“I would remind you that even before the president [Joe Biden] made his decision about withdrawal, even before the president took office, the Taliban had been making advances on the ground. Now, clearly, those advances have accelerated and deepened,” he said adding that nobody’s walking away from that.

“As I said at the outset, I think when whatever the outcomes are, when we look back on this, we’re going to see that leadership, leadership in the field, leadership, and in Kabul were really the keys,” he maintained.