An hour after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Pakistan to eliminate terrorists’ sanctuaries from its soil, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt General Khalid Rabbani criticised the US and NATO for what he said their double standards. Speaking to media on Tuesday, the military commander in the country’s conflict zone taunted the US and NATO by saying that negotiations with the Taliban across the border (Afghanistan) were considered justified, while deemed wrong when Pakistan does so with the militants. Rabbani, who commands over 150,000 soldiers and paramilitary forces in the rugged northwest, said that Pakistan was forbidden by the allies in Afghanistan from engaging in talks with the militants. Gen Rabbani further said that Washington and NATO were passing the buck to Pakistan while they were in contact with the Taliban for holding talks. Rabbani said the US and NATO were in contact with the insurgents in Afghanistan to try and “co-opt them into the peace process”. “Similar things are true on this side of the border as well,” he said. Repeating assurances by other top army officers, Rabbani said several times that the army would launch operations in North Waziristan. “Something has to be done, and it s in the offing,” said Rabbani. “North Waziristan is the only region we haven’t cleared. It should be done as early as possible.”
