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| India-Pakistan |
| NATO chief arrives to discuss fight against Taliban |
| 2007-05-08 |
| NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer arrived here on Monday on a two-day visit, largely aimed at tightening efforts in the fight against the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Before leaving Brussels, Scheffer said he also wanted to broaden bilateral ties in talks scheduled for Tuesday with President Pervez Musharraf and other officials. This is the first visit to Pakistan by a head of the military alliance. Scheffer was accompanied by NATO’s top military commander, General John Craddock, who was expected to raise concerns about continued attacks on troops in Afghanistan by militants crossing from Pakistan’s tribal areas. Speaking earlier to a Pakistani newspaper in Brussels, Scheffer said all players in Afghanistan had to step up action against the “spoilers.” “There is always room to do more for all of us – but I say explicitly that this is true for all of us, not only for Pakistan,” he said, noting the Musharraf was fighting “as hard as we are.” More assistance should be given to Pakistan in mounting surveillance over the 2,500-kilometre border with Afghanistan, according to Scheffer. US officials in particular have criticised Pakistan for allowing the militants to establish “safe havens” in the mountainous border area from which to launch attacks. Scheffer’s visit comes a week after Musharraf met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Ankara to try to overcome growing tensions over shortcomings in the fight against the Taliban. |
| Posted by:Fred |