The United States stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism, the State Department said Thursday, while condemning last week’s deadly bombing on the railway station in Quetta. “We strongly condemn the BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) Majeed Brigade’s November 9th bombing at a railway station and we extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their families,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told the daily press briefing “We have a shared interest in combating these kinds of threats with Pakistan,” he said, adding, “We have a shared commitment to regional security,” he said in response to a question from a Pakistani correspondent. “The U.S. itself has designated the BLA as a specially designated global terrorist organization,” Patel said. “We did that back in 2019. And at the end of the day, we’re going to continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism.” In response to a question about Taliban leaders congratulating the American people for not handing the leadership of their country to a woman, Patel said, “I can’t imagine the Taliban are experts when it comes to leadership under a woman or not … but the Taliban are hardly credible voices when it comes to the role women play in their society and the role that women leaders play.” He went on to say, “And what you’ve heard us say time and time again is that for as long as the Taliban continues to essentially hold back 50 percent of its population from fully integrating in society, fully participating in society, it certainly is not going to be able to reach the international recognition that we know that they – that they’re seeking.” Soon after Republican leader Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win the 2024 presidential elections, the Taliban sent a congratulatory letter to the president-elect saying they hoped he would open new chapter in the relations, quipping, “Americans are not ready to hand over the leadership of their great country to a woman,” Separately, U.S. State Department Spokesperson side-stepped a question about India’s refusal to send its team for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy to be played in Pakistan, it emphasized that sports connects people and is a “great way” to promote people-to-people ties. Replying to a question from a Pakistani correspondent about the Indian cricket board’s decision not to allow its team to travel to Pakistan, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said he would not comment on the issue since it relates to the relations between India and Pakistan, and “that is certainly for them to speak to, whether it be through sports or other things.” “You have seen this Secretary (of State Antony Blinken), this department prioritize the role that sports diplomacy has in connecting people,” he told the daily news briefing on Thursday. “And at the end of the day, sports connects so many people, and it’s a great way for those human-to-human and people-to-people ties that this administration has really prioritized,” Patel added. The ICC Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan from February 19 to March 09. Due to strained political relations, India has not played cricket in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between the archrivals was played in India from December 2012 to January 2013. Since then, their encounters have been limited to ICC tournaments and Asia Cups.