ianstone
10-08-2010, 07:02 AM
The White House has made an unprecedented public criticism of Pakistani efforts against terror, accusing Islamabad of avoiding "direct conflict" with the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.
By Alex Spillius in Washington and Rob Crilly in Islamabad
Published: 9:55AM BST 07 Oct 2010
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01733/waz_1733777c.jpg The report said that Pakistani military operations were particularly lamentable in North Waziristan Photo: GETTY
In a report being sent to Congress this week, the Obama administration also admitted that the US (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/) troop surge in Afghanistan has so far achieved only modest success.
In unusually blunt language that indicated a high level of frustration with the Pakistani (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/) government, the report said that Pakistani military operations were particularly lamentable in North Waziristan, the tribal area which is regarded as the global centre of al-Qaeda and a refuge for the Afghan Taliban.
"The Pakistani military continued to avoid military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with Afghan Taliban or Al-Qaeda forces in North Waziristan," the report said, calling the move "as much a political choice" as military prioritization.
It continued that Pakistani operations against militants in neighbouring South Waziristan were progressing "slowly" with soldiers staying too close to roads.
The report may cause further strains in the tense US-Pakistan anti-terror alliance, which has been tested by intensified US drone strikes in tribal regions. Pakistani authorities have reported more than two dozen attacks in the region over the last month which have killed more than 140 people. The increase in drone strikes has been linked to a terror plot targeting Europe. A US missile yesterday killed another five people in North Waziristan, just hours after the Taliban blew up more Nato tankers bound for Afghanistan.
The tankers have been vulnerable since Pakistan ordered a vital border crossing to be closed to Nato convoys in response to a Nato helicpoter killing two Pakistani soldiers close to the Afghan border.
Anne Patterson, the US ambassador to Pakistan, however apologised for the "tragic accident" and said they would work with the Pakistan government to prevent future accidents.
Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's former military ruler from 1999 to 2008, meanwhile admitted that his forces trained armed groups fighting in Kashmir, the first time such a senior figure has confirmed the country's links to militants which today form part of a Jihadi terror network.
India has long accused Pakistan of arming groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which sent ten commandos to wage war on Mumbai in 2008, as part of their regional struggle.
"It is the right of any country to promote its own interests when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the United Nations and is not prepared to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner," he told the German magazine Der Spiegel
By Alex Spillius in Washington and Rob Crilly in Islamabad
Published: 9:55AM BST 07 Oct 2010
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01733/waz_1733777c.jpg The report said that Pakistani military operations were particularly lamentable in North Waziristan Photo: GETTY
In a report being sent to Congress this week, the Obama administration also admitted that the US (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/) troop surge in Afghanistan has so far achieved only modest success.
In unusually blunt language that indicated a high level of frustration with the Pakistani (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/) government, the report said that Pakistani military operations were particularly lamentable in North Waziristan, the tribal area which is regarded as the global centre of al-Qaeda and a refuge for the Afghan Taliban.
"The Pakistani military continued to avoid military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with Afghan Taliban or Al-Qaeda forces in North Waziristan," the report said, calling the move "as much a political choice" as military prioritization.
It continued that Pakistani operations against militants in neighbouring South Waziristan were progressing "slowly" with soldiers staying too close to roads.
The report may cause further strains in the tense US-Pakistan anti-terror alliance, which has been tested by intensified US drone strikes in tribal regions. Pakistani authorities have reported more than two dozen attacks in the region over the last month which have killed more than 140 people. The increase in drone strikes has been linked to a terror plot targeting Europe. A US missile yesterday killed another five people in North Waziristan, just hours after the Taliban blew up more Nato tankers bound for Afghanistan.
The tankers have been vulnerable since Pakistan ordered a vital border crossing to be closed to Nato convoys in response to a Nato helicpoter killing two Pakistani soldiers close to the Afghan border.
Anne Patterson, the US ambassador to Pakistan, however apologised for the "tragic accident" and said they would work with the Pakistan government to prevent future accidents.
Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's former military ruler from 1999 to 2008, meanwhile admitted that his forces trained armed groups fighting in Kashmir, the first time such a senior figure has confirmed the country's links to militants which today form part of a Jihadi terror network.
India has long accused Pakistan of arming groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which sent ten commandos to wage war on Mumbai in 2008, as part of their regional struggle.
"It is the right of any country to promote its own interests when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the United Nations and is not prepared to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner," he told the German magazine Der Spiegel