US says Haqqani network, Pak Taliban as much threat to security as any other terror group

A day after Pakistan's National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz said that they should not target militant groups that do not pose "a direct threat" to the nation, the United States Department sought to remind Pakistan that all militant outfits including, the Haqqani network and the Taliban, were as much a threat to regional and international security as any other terror outfit.

Jeff Rathke, Director of the State Department's Press Office, said that the U.S. believed that all militant groups pose a threat to the region, Pakistan and the U.S. and that every effort should be made to deny safe haven to any of them, reported the Dawn.

Rathke said that he will communicate the message to Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif as well.

State Department officials are expected to meet Raheel later this week. The army chief is visiting the U.S. and has held a series of meetings with senior military officials.

Pakistan's Foreign Office also stepped up to offer an explanation on Tuesday by saying that Aziz was referring to past developments and not the current situation. It said that the nation was committed to oppose all forms of terrorism and that the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan is targeting all militant groups without exception.