US asks Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists

"We have encouraged Pakistan to take decisive action to deal with the threat within its borders. We're satisfied with the steps that Pakistan has taken thus far, but obviously, offencive that Pakistan has started needs to continue," State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.

Responding to allegations by the Afghan National Security Advisor 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 interest to work with Afghanistan to deal with a threat that is of direct consequence to US, a threat from al-Qaida.

"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.

These are not mutually exclusive, and likewise, it'll be important for Afghanistan and Pakistan to have an effective relationship going forward, and with the effective action on both sides of the border, the threat of extremism will be reduced to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries, including the United States, Crowley said.