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At a briefing here on Tuesday, Spokesman Mark Toner refused to acknowledge that the United States no longer trusted Pakistain as an ally, but minced no words in conveying US concerns on the alleged presence of certain ’terrorist’ groups in the country.
"We have been very clear-eyed and very clear in our interaction with Pakistain where we’ve believed that they need to do more to root out terrorists, who find safe haven on some of their territory, and we’re going to continue to do that," he said. "I’ll leave it there," he added.
A journalist pointed out that the United States did not warn Pakistain before targeting Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in the Pak territory, which indicated an obvious lack of trust.
"I think what I said just now holds, which is that operational security trumps a need to inform other governments," said Mr Toner.
"In any of these instances, it’s absolutely vital to keep operational security," he added.
The front man said the United States had also "consistently expressed our concern to the highest levels of the government of Pakistain" about their continued tolerance for Afghan Taliban groups, including the Haqqani network.
"We’re going to continue to work with the Pak authorities and a full-faith effort both to give them the tools they need and the capabilities they need to confront this threat," he said.
"And we’re going to also continue to, as we share intelligence and other information with them, to point out we believe that Death Eaters are finding safe haven."