May 02
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is saying right things and trying to make some changes in the country, but his military leadership too needs to take right decisions and right steps, the Trump Administration said Wednesday hours after the UN Security Council designated Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
Nearly a year and half after President Donald Trump ordered cutting off security aids to Pakistan, a senior US administration official told reporters that the US is trying to change Pakistan’s policy of supporting terrorist groups.
Noting the US’ recognition of the ISI’s links with its home-frown terrorist groups, the official the US does not want to get involved in the country’s internal politics and expects the Pak military to correct the situation.
“We support the civilian government. We support the nascent democratic system there. We support the fact that Prime Mister Khan says right things and appears to be trying to make some changes within Pakistan. But only time will tell if he is successful in doing that, he added.
The senior administration official said Pakistan’s military leadership too needs to take right decisions and right steps.
So far, we do see support from the military to the direction that prime minister Khan seems to be going in, he said.
The Trump administration Wednesday credited Prime Mister Khan for his helpful statements on cracking down on terror outfits and some initial steps being taken in this regard.
So, we do appreciate that Pakistan is saying the right thing, has taken the initial step that we’re looking for, but we reserve judgment because we have seen backpacking in the past, the official said.
The official said the US wants to reserve judgment till it sees if the steps they are taking are actually irreversible.
Referring to the the UN Wednesday designating Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar a “global terrorist”, the official added, “We think this designation is really critical and important for keeping Pakistan accountable to its commitment like the travel ban and asset freezes and other steps.
They are now accountable to the international community. It is too early to say whether Pakistan would indeed uphold its international obligation, but we remain hopeful, he said