Obama warns Pakistan against extremist links

US President Barack Obama on Thursday accused Pakistan of hedging its bets on Afghanistan’s future and warned there were “some connections” between its intelligence services and extremists. “I think they have hedged their bets in terms of what Afghanistan would look like and part of hedging their bets is having interactions with some of the unsavory characters who they think might end up regaining power in Afghanistan after coalition forces have left,” Obama told a White House news conference. “What we’ve tried to persuade Pakistan of is that it is in their interest to have a stable Afghanistan, that they should not be feeling threatened by a stable, independent Afghanistan,” he added. But Obama acknowledged that there was still some work to be done.
“Part of what we want to do is actually get Pakistan to realise that a peaceful approach towards India would be in everybody’s interests.” Obama highlighted some of the pressing problems that Pakistan is facing such as poverty, illiteracy, a lack of development and weak civil institutions. “And in that environment, you’ve seen extremism grow, you’ve seen militancy that threatens the Pakistani government and Pakistani people as well. Trying to get that reorientation is something we continue to work on. It is not easy.”