The announcement comes about a week after a top US military official asserted the country’s relationship with Pakistan because of its military’s role in countering the threat from Islamic State-Khorasan Province.
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The lunch will take place at 1 pm (local time) in the Cabinet Room of the White House, as per the advisory.
General Michael Kurilla, chief of the US Central Command, during a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee last week, said: “The actions of our Pakistani partners that led to the arrest and extradition of Mohammad Sharifullah, the ISIS-K planner behind the 26 August 2021 suicide attack at Abbey Gate that killed 13 US service members and approximately 160 civilians, highlights Pakistan’s value as a partner in countering CASA terror EXOPs threats worldwide, and it will only increase as the Taliban continues to face security challenges within its borders.”
“That’s why we need… to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I do not believe it is a binary switch that we can’t have one with Pakistan if we have a relationship with India,” Kurilla added.
The US State Department, meanwhile, reaffirmed its strong support for India’s fight against terror.
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US’ iterations come amid the strained relationship between India and Pakistan after a deadly terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam in April this year prompted India to launch a military strike against Pakistan leading to four days of fierce confrontation in June.
Both the countries, after days and nights of attacking each other’s installations along the border, reached a ceasefire, agreeing to stop firing and military action.
Even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar framed the ceasefire as the working out of an “understanding” between India and Pakistan, the United States claimed credit for brokering the same.
