'We support Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism': US State Dept spox

WASHINGTON: The United States has reiterated its support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts saying that it backs Islamabad's measures for protection of its citizens.

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: "We support Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism and ensure the safety and security of its citizens in a manner that promotes the rule of law and protection of human rights."

Furthermore, the spokesperson, in response to a question concerning the need to strengthen Pakistan's defence capabilities, underscored "shared interests" between Islamabad and Washington.

"Our partnership with Pakistan on security issues includes, of course, a high-level counter-terrorism dialogue, funding robust counter-terrorism capacity, and building programs and supporting a series of US and Pakistan military-to-military engagements," he noted.

Patel's remarks come as both countries, during a meeting between US Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs John Bass and Acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Rahim Hayat in Islamabad, reaffirmed their commitment to enhance cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and regional security.

Last week, the US State Department, in its "2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" had underscored the lack of necessary measures by Pakistan with regard to addressing human rights abuses in the country.

The report, lamenting sufficient and credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses, underscored extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, torture and cases of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents along with harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, arbitrary detention and political prisoners.

The Foreign Office, however, had termed the State Department's report "unfair, based on inaccurate information and completely divorced from the ground reality".

Complaining that these use a domestic social lens to judge human rights in other countries in a politically biased manner, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: "The US State Department" annual exercises of preparing such unsolicited reports lack objectivity and remain inherently flawed in their methodology."

Washington expects accountability from India

Separately, the US State Department spokesperson, while responding to a query referring to The Washington Post’s report regarding Indian government's involvement in planning the assassination of against Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, said that Washington will continue to expect accountability and will raise its concerns with New Delhi.

His remarks refer to the publication's report wherein it had claimed that an "officer in India’s intelligence service was relaying final instructions to a hired hit team to kill" one of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "most vocal critics".

The Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, identified as Vikram Yadav, was spearheading the assassination bid following approval of the agency's then-chief Samant Goel.

Pannun, the general counsel of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) and a pro-Khalistan Sikh leader, is one of the high-profile leaders in the community and has remained at risk of being eliminated, particularly in the wake of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing June 18, 2023.

As per current and former Western security officials, senior RAW officials have also been "implicated", following a stretched out probe into the matter by the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, which has charted links of the plot to the Indian premier's "inner circle".