The United States on Tuesday renewed blunt demands that Pakistan crack down on Haqqani militants based in the country, saying the network posed a serious threat to US forces in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters that Washington would “put as much pressure as possible on the Pakistanis to exercise control from their side of the border.”
“We’ve continued to state that this cannot happen, we cannot have the Haqqanis coming across the border, attacking our forces, attacking Afghanistan …and then disappearing back into a safe haven. That is not tolerable,” Panetta said.
He added: “I think they’ve heard the message, but we’ll see.”
Panetta’s comments reflect a tougher public US line in recent days amid growing frustration in President Barack Obama’s administration over the role of the Haqqani network.
The stern warnings also coincide with increasingly strained relations with Pakistan, which was angered and embarrassed by a US raid in May that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.
The Americans blame the Haqqani network for a recent bombing attack that wounded 77 US troops at a base in Wardak province and for an elaborate assault on September 13 on the US embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at an earlier event Tuesday the presence of the Haqqani sanctuaries potentially jeopardized the outcome of the war.
“Without that (Pakistani action), we can’t succeed in the overall effort,” he said.
Mullen said Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency had to sever all ties with the Haqqani militants, who operate out of sanctuaries in the country’s northwest.
“I think that the ISI has to make the decision to strategically disengage. The ISI has been doing this, supporting proxies for an extended period of time,” he told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Mullen met with his Pakistani counterpart over the weekend in Spain, General Ashfaq Kayani, and repeated Washington’s impatience on the Haqqani militants.
At the Pentagon press conference, Mullen — who has held numerous talks with Kayani during his four year tenure — said there was no doubt about “the clarity with which I addressed this issue” in the meeting with the Pakistani general.
Panata is the worst of Bush,Obama, Blair,Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld put together.He is ruthless brute and looks vying for Presidential slot in coming times by proving enemy of Muslim world and weaker targets.Be careful of this man.
In view of the fact that Haqqani Network may not be the sole reasons of humiliating defeat of the mightiest armies, it is beyond comprehension that USA is pressuring Pakistan into launching an attack on the so-called sanctuaries of the Network in NWA. This is particularly disturbing in view of the circumstantial evidence (ability of the Network to operate deep into Afghan capital) that the sanctuaries may have been relocated to somewhere in Afghanistan. Is this pressure a sincere effort to salvage Afghanistan situation for the US? For the sake of argument, if we concede that the Network is indeed hiding in NWA and Pakistan Army’s operation will weaken their ability to attack US interests in Afghanistan, will this give some sort of face saving to the retreating NATO forces? What should be the priority of Pakistan’s security establishment? To attack and eliminate the elements of TTP and al Qaeda attacking Pakistan or further thin out its resources to fight those who are a threat to NATO forces? This is where interests of Pakistan and USA do not converge and they will have to find a middle ground to come to an understanding. The circumstances point to the fact that the problem exists within Afghanistan and should be sorted out by NATO and Afghan National Army. The only way-forward to peace in Afghanistan is purely home-grown initiative keeping in view the demographic realities. Any proposal based on any other consideration will complicate the matters further and push Afghanistan into a never-ending chaos and anarchy. Read more at: http://pksecurity.blogspot.com/2011/09/haqqani-ne…
Comments are closed.