Washington:
Backing British Premier David Cameron's call to Pakistan to stop "exporting" terror, the US says more needs to done by that country in fighting terrorism despite making a strategic shift in taking aggressive action.
The Obama Administration also said it has been made very clear to Pakistan that it must stay on the offensive in combating extremist elements within its borders and in the tribal areas on the Afghan border.
"Our joint concern here is to eliminate the safe havens that exist in the region and to prevent the emergence of new safe havens from which there can be the export of terrorism that can threaten US, Europe, or other parts of the world," State Department spokesman P J Crowley, told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.
When asked about the comment made by Cameron yesterday during his visit to India that his country would not tolerate export of terrorism by Pakistan, Crowley said US does not want to see the export of terror by any country.
Crowley however acknowledged that Pakistan has taken aggressive action in the war against terrorism but said it needs to do more.
"Pakistan has, in our view, made a strategic shift in the last year or more. It has taken aggressive action at considerable expense to Pakistan. The Pakistani people are suffering as much if not more than any other people in the world from terrorism. But there is clearly more to be done," he said.
"As we've made clear, we want to see Pakistan stay on the offensive in combating these extremist elements. I know Pakistani officials in recent days have publicly stated their commitment to continue to do that," Crowley said.
Crowley also said that Pakistan has taken the most aggressive and strongest ever action against terrorists in the country under General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the powerful Army Chief who was recently given a three years extension.
"During General Kayani's tenure as the chief of staff, Pakistan has, in fact, taken the most aggressive action it's ever taken against extremist elements within its borders. We want to see that continue," he said.
"We are concerned about and have said many times that extremist element within the borders of Pakistan, in the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan, first and foremost, it represents a threat to Pakistan, it represents a threat to Afghanistan," Crowley said.
"As we have seen, extremists with links to these areas have made their way to Europe, have made their way to the United States," he added.
"We continue our conversations with Pakistani officials on how best to accomplish these things which are, we believe, in our shared interest," he said.
The State Department statement on General Kayani assumes significance in the wake of the massive leaks of classified US documents on the war on terror which reveals the links between the terrorist organisations and the ISI, when Kayani headed this intelligence outfit.