US backs Pakistan’s right to defend itself

WASHINGTON – The United States on Feb 27 said it supported Pakistan after it bombed neighbouring Afghanistan and declared war against its Taliban government following clashes. “We continue to monitor the situation closely and expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks,” Ms Allison Hooker, the Under Secretary of State for political affairs, wrote on X after talks with a Pakistani counterpart. She said she expressed to Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, Pakistan’s senior-most career diplomat, the United States’ “condolences for lives lost in the recent conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban”. Her brief statement did not call…