Pakistan, US reaffirm commitment to continue counter-terrorism cooperation

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and the United States have reiterated their commitment to counter-terrorism, promising to collaborate to address regional and global security concerns while also promoting regional stability.

“The counter-terrorism dialogue highlights Pakistan and the United States’ cooperation in addressing the most pressing challenges to regional and global security, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS-Khorasan,” a joint statement issued following the Pakistan-US counter-terrorism dialogue held in Washington, D.C. said.

Ambassador Syed Haider Shah, Additional Foreign Secretary for the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Ambassador Elizabeth Richard, US Department of State Coordinator for Counterterrorism, co-chaired the dialogue.

The discussions focused on the regional counter-terrorism landscape, with a particular emphasis on areas of mutual interest.

Senior Pakistani and US officials emphasized the importance of expanded counter-terrorism collaboration and capacity building, including exchanges of technical expertise and best practices, investigative and prosecutorial assistance, provision of border security infrastructure and training, including the United States training of more than 300 police and frontline responders since the last Pakistan-US counter-terrorism dialogue in March 2023, and strengthening multilateral cooperation.

Pakistan and the United States acknowledge that working together to combat ISIS-Khorasan, TTP, and other terrorist organizations will improve regional security and serve as a model for bilateral and regional cooperation in dealing with transnational terrorism threats.

Both governments agreed to strengthen communication on these issues and continue working together to detect and deter violent extremism using whole-of-government measures.