White House official John Kirby on Wednesday clarified that Pakistan was never a tactical ally of the United States (US).
“Pakistan was never a technical ally of the United States. I mean, there was no treaty of alliance with Pakistan,” Kirby told a press briefing in Washington, when asked about what the Joe Biden administration had done in response to Islamabad’s appeal against rising cross-border terrorism.
However, he acknowledged that the United States and Pakistan have joined hands on numerous occasions in the fight against terrorism.
“But certainly, over many, many years in the last couple of decades, we partnered with Pakistan as appropriate to deal with the terrorist threat,” he mentioned.
“… that still exists on that spine between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Kirby also mentioned that the American authorities recognised that Pakistani people were still falling victim to terrorist violence coming from across that border.
The White House official added that his administration, for as long as they’ll be in office, remains committed to working with Pakistan to address those common threats and challenges.
“And that’s not — that hasn’t changed. It’s not going to change.”
In August, 2024, spokesperson from the State Department Vedant Patel had reaffirmed his country’s commitment to preventing groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from using Afghanistan as a hub for launching attacks against neighbouring countries including Pakistan.
Then the next month, spokesperson Matthew Miller had maintained that the US would continue to stand “shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism”.
Later in December, Miller had reiterated US unwavering support for Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and extremism.
“We continue to stand with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism,” Miller said while addressing a weekly media briefing in Washington.
