US asks Pakistan to take decisive action against extremists

Concerned over the extremist threat that exists within Pakistan's borders, the US has asked Islamabad to take "decisive action" against such elements operating from its soil.

"We have encouraged Pakistan to take decisive action to deal with the threat within its borders...," state department spokesman PJ Crowley said.

Responding to allegations by Afghan national security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta that Pakistan continues to mentor terrorist outfits, Crowley said one cannot look at this in isolation and through the lens of a zero-sum calculation.

"It is in the United States's interest to work with Afghanistan to deal with a threat that is of direct consequence to the US, a threat from al-Qaeda.

"Likewise, it's in our interest to work effectively with Pakistan to deal with that extremist threat that exists within Pakistan's borders," he said.

Crowley said the countries in South Asia should work more effectively together to help reduce the threat of terrorism to any one of them.

"Does Afghanistan need to have a constructive relationship with Pakistan? It does. Does Pakistan have to have a constructive relationship with India? It does," he said.

"Should all these countries need to avoid a zero-sum mentality that a gain on one side is necessarily a detriment on the other? We think that to the extent that these countries can work more effectively together, that will ultimately help reduce the threat of terrorism to any one of them," he said.

Crowley was responding to recent media reports that the Pakistan's ISI no longer considers India as its top threat, but considers internal terrorism as its main threat.

"We have certainly encouraged countries in the region to work collectively together because they confront a shared threat, and we think some of these challenges can only be resolved through effective and coordinated action across the region," Crowley said.