The spokesperson said she was "not making a judgment one way or the other on the efficacy of continuing airstrikes or what the Pakistani Government should do next."
"Just broadly speaking, we have supported the Pakistani Government as they've undertaken counter-terrorism efforts because it's a fight we certainly share."
"Terrorist groups like the TTP should stop attacking innocent civilians," she said when asked about the call for a ceasefire.
"The Pakistani Government has a responsibility to protect their people and that there's no equivalency between the two in any way," Harf said.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post in a report from Islamabad said "The deadly assault on Karachi's international airport shows the growing sophistication of the Pakistani Taliban."
The militant group "has an increasing presence in the country's largest city and appears poised to inflict further damage despite a split in its ranks," it said citing government leaders and analysts.
In a commentary on CNN, Imtiaz Gul head of the independent Centre for Research and Security Studies, and author of the book "The Most Dangerous Place," said the attack was "a reminder of the massive security challenge that comes from affiliates of Al Qaeda holed up in the mountainous Pakistan-Afghanistan border terrain."
