The United States has offered its ‘assistance’ to Pakistan in fighting terrorism, particularly amid the rising incidents of militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, saying that defeating terrorism was a ‘shared goal’ of both the countries. In a press briefing here yesterday, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, while responding to a question regarding the situation, stated that “we have been closely following reports that militants have seized control of the counterterrorism center in Bannu” and offered “deepest sympathies to those injured”. “The Government of Pakistan is a partner when it comes to these shared challenges, including the challenge of terrorist groups – terrorist groups inside of Afghanistan, terrorist groups along the Afghan-Pakistan border,” he added. “We stand ready to assist to Pakistan,” the spokesperson said. Responding to another question about the recent heated exchange between India and Pakistan, Price said that the US maintained its partnerships with both the countries and stressed that “these relationships stand on their own; it is not zero-sum”. “We see the importance – the indispensability really – of maintaining valuable partnerships with both our Indian and our Pakistani friends,” he added.