U.S. welcomes report of Pakistan banning Haqqani network, Jamaat-ud-Dawa

January 16, 2015 10:27 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:09 pm IST - Washington

The U.S. has welcomed news reports that Pakistan is contemplating banning several terrorist organisations including the Haqqani network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), calling it an important step towards eliminating terrorist activities in that country.

“We welcome the reports that the Government of Pakistan plans to outlaw the Haqqani Network, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and I think about ten other organisations linked to violent extremism,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf, told reporters.

“If they go forward with this it is an important step, certainly, towards eliminating terrorist activity in Pakistan,” she said adding that Secretary of State John Kerry had a very good visit to Pakistan where he talked to the Pakistani government, as we always do, about counter- terrorism, how they can work together more closely.

According to the reports, Pakistan plans to ban 10 terror outfits, including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat- ud-Dawa (JuD) and the dreaded Afghan-based Haqqani Network, a move seen by experts as a “paradigm shift” in the country’s security policy in the wake of Peshawar school massacre.

“Certainly, this would be an important step going forward. We certainly believe that if this goes forward, that it would be an important step,” Ms. Harf said.

“We have a long history of close cooperation with Pakistan on counter-terrorism efforts. We’ve been very clear with the Pakistani government that they need to crack down and go after all terrorist groups that threaten them, threaten their people — their people are, unfortunately, the victims of more terrorist attacks than, people probably anywhere else,” she said.

“It is an ongoing conversation, certainly, but this would be a very important step,” she added.

Mr. Kerry, she said, had a successful visit to Pakistan.

“He had a number of conversations, not just about counter-terrorism issues — although that was a huge focus, and obviously wanted to personally express his condolences over the horrific attack in Peshawar — but also about the economic issues and other issues,” she said.

“It’s a broad relationship that goes beyond security. I think that was a really key part of what he wanted to focus on when he was there. The banning of these terrorist groups is obviously for the government of Pakistan to decide on, but it was a very good visit,” State Department spokesperson said.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.