The United States on Monday said it will continue to work with Pakistan to ensure it can better assist Islamabad in countering all forms of violent extremism.
Responding to a question on last week’s suicide attack in Mastung, Balochistan and what was preventing Washington from targeting militant hideouts in Afghanistan, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular press briefing that Pakistanis have “suffered tremendously” from terrorist attacks.
“They [Pakistanis] deserve to practice their faith without fear. We of course offer condolences to families who lost loved ones and a speedy recovery to those who are injured,” he added.
With respect to counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the U.S., Miller said Washington worked with Pakistan on a range of multilateral fora on issues such as terrorist designations and global strategies to defeat terrorist groups. “Earlier this year we held a high-level counterterrorism dialogue to discuss the shared terrorist threats facing our two countries and to work on strategies to cooperate in areas such as border security, terrorist financing—and we will continue to work with Pakistan to ensure that we can better assist Pakistan’s effort to counter all forms of violent extremism,” he added.
On Friday, a suicide bomber targeted a mosque near Mastung on the occasion of Eid Miladun Nabi, killing 60 people and injuring dozens more. While no militant group has, as yet, claimed responsibility for the bombing, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti told media India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency was involved in carrying out terror incidents in Pakistan. He pledged that authorities would utilize all resources to eliminate terrorism.
Earlier, Army chief Gen. Asim Munir had warned that no militants would be spared, regardless of affiliation, adding they must either submit to the writ of the state or face eradication.
There has been a marked resurgence in terrorism across Pakistan since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan unilaterally ended a ceasefire it had inked with the government. According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the number of civilian casualties in militant attacks almost doubled in September, compared to the preceding month, despite 34 percent fewer incidents.
It said 65 reported militant attacks in September had led to the deaths of 136 civilians, military and law enforcement agencies personnel, as well as 144 injuries. Of these, it said, 84 were civilians.