| The US State Department denied on Friday that there had been any 'talk of declaring Pakistan a terrorist state'. While welcoming the steps taken by Pakistan following the sanctioning of Jamaatud Dawa (JD), some other organisations and a number of individuals -- including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed -- State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Pakistan took the step it did "because it saw it in its interest". He said, "As we have said many, many times over, the threat from violent extremists and terrorists in Pakistan is as much a threat to the Pakistani people and the Pakistani government as it is to anybody else. All that said, it's a welcome step that they took. This is a day-by-day process and is something that requires vigilance every single day in fighting terrorism." Asked if Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be discussing the UN ban on JD in New York next week, McCormack said, "I'm sure that she will touch on the issues related to India and Pakistan." |