US asks Pakistan,Afghanistan to work together to tackle Taliban

In the backdrop of terror attacks on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, the US has stressed on the need for Pakistan and Afghanistan to work together to effectively overcome the Taliban challenge. “The conclusion that we’ve drawn here is…that the Taliban poses a security threat to both countries, and that the nations of Afghanistan and Pakistan are going to be able to more effectively confront that threat if they’re able to more effectively cooperate,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. Focusing on the  role played by the US in the region, Mr Earnest said the US has long been supportive of the reconciliation process between the Afghan government and the Taliban. He said the US is hoping to facilitate better co-operation between the two countries. “Any sort of decisions about how the continuation of those talks and any sort of agreement that could be produced by those talks about whether or not that’s in the interest of those countries to pursue — those are decisions that will be made by the leaders in those two countries, as it should be,” Mr Earnest said. In a trilateral meeting held with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Davos on January 21, US Vice President Joe Biden discussed the recent reconciliation efforts. Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US have been pressurising all Afghan Taliban groups to start talks with Kabul.  The US has emphasised on finding a political solution to the long-running conflict in the war-torn country.