The US expects Pakistan will take action against the perpetrators of the terror attack on Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on Saturday, a top American official said, hours after Islamabad said it is working on the “leads” provided by India.
“The government of Pakistan has spoken very powerfully to this and it’s certainly our expectation that they’ll treat this exactly the way they’ve said they would,” state department spokesman John Kirby said.
Describing terrorism as a “shared challenge” in South Asia, the US asked all countries in the region to work together to disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks and bring the Pathankot attackers to justice.
“… there remain some safe havens that we obviously want to see cleared out. And we continue to engage with the government of Pakistan to that end,” Kirby said.
“We want to see the government of Pakistan continue to press the fight against terrorists, all terrorists, and to meet their own expectations that they’re not going to discriminate among groups,” he said.
“We recognise there’s more everybody can do, not just Pakistan but every nation can do because it is a shared challenge and it’s a challenge, as you well know, that doesn’t necessarily observe borders and boundaries. So it’s something that everybody can attack more,” he said.
Kirby said the US is encouraged by the government of Pakistan condemning the Pathankot attack.