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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
‘Pakistan not to blame for Afghan violence’* Pakistani officials say US should focus on defeating Taliban inside Afghanistan instead of blaming Pakistan for its failure
ISLAMABAD: The United States should focus on defeating terrorists inside Afghanistan instead of blaming Pakistan for its failure, officials said on Monday.
Washington accused Pakistan on Saturday of having links to the Haqqani network, which Washington blames for an attack on the US Embassy and other targets in Kabul, and said the government in Islamabad must cut those ties.
“Whenever big attacks in Kabul or elsewhere in Afghanistan take place this blame game starts,” a senior military official, who requested anonymity, said.
“Instead of blaming us, they should take action against terrorists on their side of the border.”
In blunt remarks, the US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter told Radio Pakistan that there was evidence linking the Haqqanis to the government.
Washington has long blamed militants sheltering in Pakistan for violence in Afghanistan. Islamabad says its forces are taking high casualties fighting insurgents and bristles at any suggestion it provides support for fighters.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned Pakistan last week the United States would “do everything we can” to defend U.S. forces from Pakistan-based militants staging attacks in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Pakistan in 3-1/2 hours of talks on Sunday to attack the Haqqani network, a senior US official said.
The official said the issue of counter-terrorism in general and the Haqqani network in particular were the first and last topics discussed by Clinton and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
“They (the Americans) say militants come from Pakistan but they travel up to Kabul and no one arrests them all the way to Kabul. It is their responsibility (to arrest them there) not ours,” said the senior Pakistani military official.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said that the two sides needed to work towards a “friction-free relationship”. “Any perceptional differences warrant deeper engagement and that is taking place,” she said. Ties between Washington and Islamabad are often uneasy. The Haqqani network is one of the most divisive issues. “Terrorism and extremism are a much bigger threat to Pakistan than to the United States,” said Mahmud Ali Durrani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States. reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk