US reaffirms support to Pakistan on terrorism, western border issues

• US reassures of technical assistance to Pakistan over border threats.
• Islamabad, Washington agree on deterring terrorist groups: spox.
• Pakistan witnesses increased terrorism incidents in recent months.
  

WASHINGTON: The United States Wednesday once again reiterated its support for Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and border issues as the latter strives to curb the scourge of terrorism.

"We confirmed with Pakistan today our bilateral intention to increase our capacity to meet emerging threats, specifically to increase communication on terrorism," US State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a press briefing in Washington.

Responding to a query regarding the recent security talks held between Islamabad and Washington, the spokesperson said that both countries have agreed on preventing and deterring terrorist groups with collaboration in various areas including counter-IED investigations, technical assistance at the country's western border etc.

His remarks come as Pakistan has faced an increased wave of terrorism in recent months with scores of attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement agencies and security forces in various areas across the country.

Pakistan has time again raised its concerns with the interim Afghan Taliban government over the use of Afghan soil by various militant organisations including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Patel's comments refer to a high-level meeting between the two countries held in Washington earlier this week wherein the discussion centred on the counter-terrorism landscape in the region.

The meeting was co-chaired by Additional Foreign Secretary for the UN and OIC Ambassador Syed Haider Shah and US Department of State Coordinator for Counter-terrorism Ambassador Elizabeth Richard.

As per the statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), during the huddle, both countries recognised that a partnership to counter the ISIS-Khorasan — also known as Daesh — the TTP, and other terrorist organisations will advance security in the region and serve as a model of bilateral and regional cooperation to address transnational terrorism threats.

It is to be noted that as per the Q1 2024 Security Report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in April this year, at least 92% of all fatalities and 86% of attacks in Pakistan, including those related to terrorism and security forces operations, were recorded in the Khyber Pakhtun­khwa and Balochistan provinces in the first quarter of 2024.

The report mentioned that the country witnessed at least 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel and outlaws resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

Among the 432 fatalities, 281 included that of civilians and security forces personnel.

The KP and Balochistan province alone have accounted for 51% and 41% of the total fatalities in Q1, 2024, respectively. The data indicates that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8% of all deaths.