Pak welcomes US designation of Tehrik-e-Taliban as foreign terrorist org

Pakistan today welcomed the decision of the United States to designate the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan as a "foreign terrorist organisation".

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing that Pakistan welcomes the US administration’s decision.

He was responding to a question.

The US yesterday designated the Pakistani Taliban a foreign terrorist group and charged its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, with involvement in a December 2009 suicide attack that killed seven CIA operatives at a forward base in Afghanistan.

The move marks an effort to expand the US campaign against the Pakistani Taliban beyond drone strikes and other means used to target militants.

The Pakistani Taliban recently expanded its agenda to include attacks in the US. 

The group claimed responsibility for equipping and training Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American behind the botched car bomb attack in Times Square on May 1.

Replying to another question, spokesman Basit said Pakistan also welcomed the US decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq, saying this will bring a new turn and inject stability in that country.

In response to a question about the situation in Afghanistan, Basit said Pakistan believes that the US is committed for bringing stability to the war-torn country and is implementing a holistic policy announced by President Barack Obama last year.

Pakistan hopes this international commitment to Afghanistan will continue till credible stability is established in the country, he said.