ISLAMABAD
The US and Pakistan have agreed on Islamabad’s own plan for a targeted military offensive in North Waziristan Agency instead of a full-fledged operation demanded by the Obama administration. Until the recently concluded US-Pak Strategic Dialogue in Washington DC, the Obama administration was asking for an all out military operation in North Waziristan but had softened its stance and agreed to a give Islamabad a chance for its own surgical strikes and limited ground offensive.
“Pakistan presented this plan in the three-day strategic dialogue that ended on Friday and tried hard to persuade the Obama administration to accept it, as it is the viable option to opt for in the current circumstances,” said a senior Pakistani official, seeking anonymity.
The Pakistani delegation consisting of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and others told the US authorities that the Pakistan Army was already busy in various military operations besides helping with the post-flood relief activities, the official said. He said that Pakistan would now work out the modalities for the limited but targeted military offensive but refused to give any timeframe for the action.
