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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan has failed to close down 'terrorist networks', says US |
| 2007-10-25 |
| The US State Department said on Tuesday that Pakistan has not been successful in closing down “terrorist networks” and their supporters. In answer to a question, spokesman Sean McCormack, while making the standard response about President Musharraf and his government being “good allies in the war on terror,” made it clear that the US views Pakistan’s performance in the war against terrorism as less than satisfactory. He also said that President Musharraf had decided to support the US on his own and the US had been supportive of his effort. The two sides had been working together, with Pakistan itself having “launched numerous operations inside Pakistan to try to disrupt terrorist attacks as well as break up terrorist cells,” he added. End ‘safe haven’: McCormack said, “There was an issue of Taliban sympathisers, Al Qaeda operating in those tribal regions in the northwest of Pakistan. And the prime minister [Shaukat Aziz] and his government are very much aware that it’s a problem. It’s a problem for them. We’ve seen the kind of violence that potentially can emanate from those regions and it is directed at us, it’s directed at the Afghan populations. It’s directed at Pakistani populations. So they understand very well what the threat is. Now, in those tribal areas, they made some efforts. Thus far, they have not been successful in closing down these terrorist networks and those who are supporting them. That’s going to require a concerted effort. And we’re going to continue to work with the Pakistani government to see that there is not a safe haven from which those terrorist groups and terrorists can operate.” |
| Posted by:Fred |