WASHINGTON — The U.S. will provide counter-IED investigation and technical assistance along Pakistan’s western border, Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vidant Patel announced Tuesday.
The initiative aims to deter terrorist groups and is part of broader bilateral efforts between Washington and Islamabad to address emerging threats.
Speaking in Washington, D.C., Patel emphasized the commitment to enhancing cooperative measures on terrorism.
“We confirmed with Pakistan today our bilateral intention to increase our capacity to meet emerging threats, specifically to enhance communication on terrorism trends and movements of concern in a manner that is actionable both within Pakistan and between our two countries,” he said.
This announcement follows a visit nearly two weeks ago by Gen. Michael Kurila, U.S. Commander of the Central Command, to Pakistan, where he toured border regions adjacent to Afghanistan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The collaboration comes amid allegations that Pakistan has conducted airstrikes in parts of Afghanistan where Islamabad asserts that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has sanctuaries. Additionally, the presence of drones in several Afghan provinces has sparked questions about airspace violations, with the Taliban accusing the U.S. of such infringements.
Further stirring regional dynamics, Pakistani parliament member Sher Afza Morvat recently disclosed that Pakistan provided two Air Force bases to the U.S. in Balochistan, near the borders of Afghanistan and Iran.
