In the latest development, the United States wants Pakistan to exercise restraint and to be in its limits amid escalated tensions between India and Pakistan. Pakistani soldiers have allegedly breached the ceasefire over 110 times along the LoC since January, as reported by PTI.
The confrontation increased after India claimed to have launched an air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that martyred 40 CRPF personnel.
One more terror attack on India by Pakistan means the latter will be in big trouble as the US handed a massive warning to Pakistan. The US also asked Pakistan’s capital Islamabad to take more “concrete and sustained” actions to put brakes on the country-backed terror groups including the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Addressing reporters at the White House on Wednesday, a senior administration official told in a statement: “We need to see Pakistan taking concrete and sustained action to rein in the terrorist groups, mainly the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba in order to ensure that we don’t have re-escalation (of tensions) in the region“.
“If there’s any additional terrorist attack without Pakistan having made a sustained, sincere effort against these groups, it would be extremely problematic for Pakistan and it would cause re-escalation of tensions, which is dangerous for both countries,” the official said on the condition of anonymity.
When asked about the action being taken by Pakistan following the Balakot air strike by Indian fighter jets, the official said that the US and the international community needed to see “irreversible and sustained” steps against the terror groups.
“It’s early to make a full assessment,” he said.
In the recent development, the official said Pakistan has indeed taken some actions as they have frozen the assets of some terrorist groups and made some arrests, he said.
“But we clearly need to see more. We need to see irreversible action because in the past, what we’ve seen is they made some arrests and then a few months later, they released these individuals. The terrorist leaders are sometimes still allowed to travel around the country, hold rallies,” the official said.
