WASHINGTON: A US delegation will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday (today) for counterterrorism talks, days after an official US report warned that terrorist groups were once again regrouping in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region.
“Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Christopher Landberg will lead an interagency delegation to Pakistan [from] March 6-7 to participate in the Pakistan-US Counterterrorism Dialogue,” the US State Department announced.
“The United States and Pakistan will discuss the shared terrorist threats facing our two countries and develop policy-oriented strategies regarding cooperation in critical areas such as border security and countering the financing of terrorism,” the statement added.
Diplomatic sources told Dawn that the US-Pakistan defence talks, held in Washington last month, also focused on issues like counterterrorism, terrorism financing and intelligence sharing.
State Dept says both sides will discuss shared terror threats
The United States expects Pakistan to back its efforts to prevent terrorist groups from renewing their roots in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.
After recent terrorist attacks in Peshawar and Karachi, the United States assured Pakistan of its full support in fighting extremist groups like TTP and IS-K who have claimed responsibility for the attacks.
An official report released earlier this week warned that TTP and IS-K were once again becoming a major threat to Pakistan.
The report said that the TTP was trying to push the government of Pakistan out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and establish Sharia by waging a terrorist campaign against the military and state.
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2023
