US refuses to brand Pakistan as terrorist state

Despite being an outspoken ally of India and condemning the festering violence in Pakistan, the United States has declared it will not support any bid to declare Pakistan a terror state.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby has said that the US wants India and Pakistan to engage in a "meaningful dialogue" to dissolve the tensions between the two countries, including the Kashmir issue. Kirby also clarified that to the best of his knowledge Pakistan has been successful in keeping nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Kirby further declared that the US is not in favour of branding Pakistan as a "terrorist state" and will not support the bill and online petition demanding the same. During his press briefing, Kirby said: "I have not seen anything specifically about the - such a bill [demanding Pakistan's negative branding], and obviously we don't."

He added that the US wants India and Pakistan to work together despite their differences before the lives and security of their children are compromised. "We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them... That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan," said Kirby.

The US also seems to have full confidence in Pakistan's control over the security in their country. Kirby further said: "I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal."