No Evidence Of India Using Afghan Soil To Create Trouble In Pak, Says US
The US on Wednesday said it does not have “evidence” that suggests India is using Afghan soil to perpetrate terrorism in Pakistan.
“I don’t have the evidence what you’re referring to, but our policy is clear that no country should support non-state actors,” said Alice Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, answering to a number of questions put forth by a group of journalists at the US embassy in Islamabad.
Islamabad has long been accusing Kabul of allowing New Delhi to create instability in Pakistan and often blames foreign elements (a reference to India) for acts of violence principally in the volatile Balochistan province, northwestern Gilgit-Baltistan region and the southern port city of Karachi.
The US diplomat, nevertheless, said that Washington would never condone or support any use of “terrorist proxies against another country”.
“We have been working very actively with Pakistan to combat whether it’s Al Qaeda or Tehreek-e-Taliban. Any terrorist attacking Pakistan is enemy of ours and we share very strong counter-terrorism objectives in defeating extremist forces,” said Alice Wells.
“I would positively note that many comments the Prime Minister has made in public underscoring his government’s commitment to moving away from non-state actors to ensuring that the national action plan that Pakistan has forged is implemented,” she added.
The diplomat clearly stated that the US had no information regarding the Pakistan army’s latest allegations that Afghan and Indian secret agencies were funding the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM, also Pashtun protection movement).
Wells had arrived in Islamabad on Monday morning as part of a delegation headed by US special envoy for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad.
