WASHINTON: The United States of America is aware of the tensions at Pak-India border, said State Department Spokesman John Kirby. During a daily media briefing, John Kirby, while replying to a question about killing of soldiers and civilians on both side of border during the last couple of months said, “We’re certainly aware of them. And in at least one case, investigations are just now beginning. We want to respect that process.”
He said US has talked about the threat of extremism there in the region. “It affects everybody on both sides,” said a spokesman. “We continue to want to see dialogue and discussion between India and Pakistan to improve cooperation, to improve communication, and improve shared efforts against a common threat.”
The Spokesman said that Travel Warnings were not indicative of bilateral relations with any country, and were simply the government’s commitment to provide up-to-date information to US citizens that are travelling or residing abroad. He said such warnings are routinely updated, roughly every six months.
“And it wasn’t meant, nor is any Travel Warning meant, to discourage people from actually travelling or doing legitimate business. That’s not the purpose of it at all,” he added. He said the decision to travel to Pakistan was for American businessmen and women to make, and that any warning was just the government’s obligation to its citizens to keep them up to date.
“It’s really important for you and for people in Pakistan to understand what a Travel Warning is. It is simply providing, in this case, a routine update of general information so that they can make informed decisions about traveling,” he said while adding that Pakistan was not the only country in the world which has existing Travel Warnings.
