No agreement on halting drone attacks yet

Signifying some progress towards building mutual trust, US and Pakistani officials are considering joint counterterrorism campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan to contain militancy afflicting lives on both sides of the restive Afghan border. However, no breakthrough was reported in the two countries’ talks on stopping the drone attacks in Pakistan. The discussions took place during the visit of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Zaheer Ul Islam, who met with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director David Petraeus and a host of senior American officials and lawmakers during his three-day visit. A report in the Wall Street Journal said the proposed campaigns would target the Haqqani militant group, which has mounted several attacks on US soldiers, as well as Taliban fighters who have launched attacks on Pakistan, the officials said. The campaigns would be intended to help stamp out major security threats facing each country, targeting what the US says are sanctuaries for the Haqqani network in Pakistan, and what Pakistan says are sanctuaries for the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan.
The discussion also means the two sides are showing willingness to accommodate mutual concerns on the way forward in containing cross-border militancy.
The newspaper report, however, says the plans are considered, at best, promising. “It’s a good beginning,” said Vali Nasr, a former top State Department official during late Richard Holbrooke’s term as US envoy. Nasr, who is dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, pointed out that in previous joint campaigns, Pakistan has asked to be involved in all aspects of intelligence-gathering. But the US side has looked skeptically at Pakistani requests to share information about coming raids. “It’s always been a sticking point,” Nasr said. The discussions on potential US-Pakistani plans also involved officials from State Department and Pentagon, as well as top lawmakers, said the officials familiar with the talks, according the Journal report.
DRONE STRIKES: Pakistan’s demand for a halt to CIA drone strikes in Pakistan was also discussed.
Islamabad is understood to have conveyed its objections to drone strikes into its territory. Islamabad has been stressing recently that drones not only violate the country’s sovereignty but contribute to inciting militancy. According the Journal report, no agreement was reached on any changes to the program, officials said. American and Pakistani officials both described this week’s meetings as “productive and indicative of a higher level of trust” than in previous meetings, the report noted.