<p>
A top US official has called for Pakistan to take action against all extremist groups without distinction as Islamabad has been playing a double game with its &ldquo;good terrorist, bad terrorist policy.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
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Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet on October 7-8 with officials in Islamabad at a time when US Senators have moved a bill for an investigation into Pakistan&rsquo;s support for the Taliban which could lead to US sanctions against the country.</p>
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&nbsp;&quot;We seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism and we expect sustained action against all terrorist groups without distinction,&quot; Sherman told reporters.</p>
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&quot;Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats,&quot; she said in Switzerland, her first destination on a diplomatic trip that will also take her to India and Uzbekistan.</p>
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Ministers in the Imran Khan government have been openly bragging about Islamabad&rsquo;s close links with the Taliban leaders who they point out have been educated and brought up in Pakistan.</p>
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The US has serious concerns over Pakistan offering safe havens to terrorists along the border areas of Afghanistan, the Pentagon has said.</p>
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&quot;We&#39;ve been very honest about our concerns with Pakistan for a long time, about the safe havens that exist on their side of the border along that spine. And those concerns are still valid today,&quot; Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Thursday at a news conference.</p>
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&quot;We continue to have candid conversations with Pakistani leaders about our concerns,&quot; he said in response to a question.</p>
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&quot;I think it&#39;s important to continue to remind them that the Pakistani people, likewise, have been rendered victim by terrorist threats that emanate from those groups and along that same border,&quot; he said.</p>
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Mr Kirby also said that the United States is within its rights to continue drone strikes inside Afghanistan.</p>
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Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been a strong critic of US military campaigns, said in an interview to a Turkish news channel on Friday that his government had opened peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan leadership was facilitating the issue.</p>
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&quot;Some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government for some peace, for some reconciliation,&quot; he told Turkey&#39;s TRT World television.</p>
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He said the discussions were taking place in Afghanistan with sections of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has stepped up attacks against the Pakistan army in recent days.</p>
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&quot;I repeat, I do not believe in military solutions,&quot; Khan said.</p>
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Khan has encouraged the world to engage with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and provide economic support, although he has stopped short of backing recognition keeping his country&rsquo;s own interests in mind as he has been approaching the IMF and World Bank for loans.</p>
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Pakistan, a Cold War ally of the United States, was one of only three nations to recognize the hardline Islamist Taliban regime during 1996-2001 but then suddenly switched to supporting the US-led war to oust them after the September 11, 2001 attacks.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/us-may-use-russia-s-bases-in-central-asia-to-hit-terror-targets-in-taliban-ruled-afghanistan-118222.html">US may use Russia&rsquo;s bases in Central Asia to hit terror targets in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan</a></strong></p>
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