An American diplomat has welcomed Pakistan's crackdown on charities run by militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, saying the US is not "walking away from Pakistan", reported The Hindu.

Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said while Pakistan has taken “initial constructive steps” against terrorists operating on its soil, they aren’t yet irreversible.

“I was heartened by the press comments by General Bajwa where he said things like the ‘state must have the monopoly on violence’, and there is ‘no role for non-state actors’.... Those are extremely positive statements and now I think the challenge is to see them implemented. We are certainly in a very good faith conversation with Pakistan.”

On Monday, the US Department of State amended its foreign terrorist organisation designation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to include Milli Muslim League (MML) and Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir (TAJK), which were identified as LeT fronts.

Additionally, the Treasury Department added seven members of MML’s leadership council to the list of specially designated global terrorists. The designations are the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to pressure Pakistan to tackle terrorist groups that openly operate inside the country with the approval and support of both the military and the government, reported US media on Tuesday.

The US first added Lashkar-e-Taiba to its list of foreign terrorist organisations in Dec 2001, after LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed, an allied terrorist group, attacked the Indian Parliament.

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the government will challenge a court ruling that had allowed the organisation to contest national elections due in summer this year.

Last month, the Islamabad High Court had sided with Milli Muslim League, whose bid to register as a political party was rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan because of its ties to Hafiz Saeed.

“Taking action against terrorist groups is an international obligation and the government will fulfill it,” Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview with a TV channel. “This point and some more material will be shared with the court to get it undone,” he added.

But the MML has vowed to continue its political activities and participate in the elections. “We clearly state that on US announcements we will not discontinue our political activities at any cost,” MML president Saifullah Khalid said on Wednesday.

“Milli Muslim League will fully participate in the 2018 elections and will field candidates from across Pakistan.”