U.S. welcomes Pakistan's reported plan to ban Haqqani Network

The United States on Thursday welcomed a reported plan by Pakistan to ban the Haqqani Network blamed for some deadly attacks on American and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

"We welcome reports that the government of Pakistan plans to outlaw the Haqqani Network," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters at a daily news briefing, calling it "an important step toward eliminating terrorist activity in Pakistan."

Washington branded the Taliban-affiliated group a foreign terrorist organization in September 2012 and has pressed Islamabad to flush it out over the years over some of the most spectacular attacks it launched on coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Secretary of State John Kerry visited the South Asian country early this week, during which he called for action against all militant groups including the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network and the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba.

The Haqqani Network is among 12 organizations on which the Pakistani government has decided to slap a ban, The Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper, said on its website. Endite