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Pakistan rebuffs US call for attacks on militants
Source: Agencies |
September 30, 2011, Friday
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UNITED States pressure on Pakistan to attack Afghan militants on its soil will not succeed, the Pakistani prime minister yesterday told a gathering of political and military leaders trying to formulate a response to fresh American allegations that the army's spy agency is supporting the insurgents.
The claims last week by Admiral Mike Mullen, America's top military officer, sent relations between Islamabad and Washington plummeting and triggered an anti-American backlash across Pakistan.
Much of the focus has been on veiled US threats of unilateral action against Afghan militants sheltering on the Pakistan side of the border.
"Pakistan cannot be pressured to do more, but the doors are still open from our side for talks and discussion," said Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani. "We reject these allegations. God willing, we can face these challenges with unity. We are committed to defend our independence and sovereignty."
US officials have long talked with Islamabad about links between Pakistan and the militant Haqqani network that is behind much of the violence in Afghanistan. But those discussions were mostly held in private, in the hope that Pakistan could gradually be persuaded to sever the purported ties with the group.
But Mullen seemed to signal a new approach last Friday when he told Congress that the Haqqani network was a "veritable arm" of the spy agency, which he said supported the militants in a recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul.
Pakistani officials have denied the allegations, and accused Washington of making them a scapegoat for US failures in Afghanistan.
Most of Pakistan's feuding political party leaders were present at yesterday's meeting, a sign of how US threats can unite them. The attendants are expected to issue a resolution condemning the US but it's unclear whether the statement will touch on the allegations of Pakistan support for Afghan militants, a far more sensitive topic because it could set off criticism of the powerful army.
The army, not the elected government, controls Afghan policy and will ultimately decide the course of action.
Most analysts say the Pakistani army and the spy agency are tolerating or even supporting the Haqqani network because they want to cultivate it as an ally in Afghanistan once the Americans withdraw. They see little chance of the top brass attacking the group now, especially when the US is calling for peace talks with other militant factions in Afghanistan.
This view has support in Pakistan, where many people perceive the US as the illegitimate force in Afghanistan, not the Afghan Taliban. But others oppose it as the militants are ideologically allied to al-Qaida and other extremists who have carried out scores of bombings on Pakistani soil over the last four years.
The claims last week by Admiral Mike Mullen, America's top military officer, sent relations between Islamabad and Washington plummeting and triggered an anti-American backlash across Pakistan.
Much of the focus has been on veiled US threats of unilateral action against Afghan militants sheltering on the Pakistan side of the border.
"Pakistan cannot be pressured to do more, but the doors are still open from our side for talks and discussion," said Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani. "We reject these allegations. God willing, we can face these challenges with unity. We are committed to defend our independence and sovereignty."
US officials have long talked with Islamabad about links between Pakistan and the militant Haqqani network that is behind much of the violence in Afghanistan. But those discussions were mostly held in private, in the hope that Pakistan could gradually be persuaded to sever the purported ties with the group.
But Mullen seemed to signal a new approach last Friday when he told Congress that the Haqqani network was a "veritable arm" of the spy agency, which he said supported the militants in a recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul.
Pakistani officials have denied the allegations, and accused Washington of making them a scapegoat for US failures in Afghanistan.
Most of Pakistan's feuding political party leaders were present at yesterday's meeting, a sign of how US threats can unite them. The attendants are expected to issue a resolution condemning the US but it's unclear whether the statement will touch on the allegations of Pakistan support for Afghan militants, a far more sensitive topic because it could set off criticism of the powerful army.
The army, not the elected government, controls Afghan policy and will ultimately decide the course of action.
Most analysts say the Pakistani army and the spy agency are tolerating or even supporting the Haqqani network because they want to cultivate it as an ally in Afghanistan once the Americans withdraw. They see little chance of the top brass attacking the group now, especially when the US is calling for peace talks with other militant factions in Afghanistan.
This view has support in Pakistan, where many people perceive the US as the illegitimate force in Afghanistan, not the Afghan Taliban. But others oppose it as the militants are ideologically allied to al-Qaida and other extremists who have carried out scores of bombings on Pakistani soil over the last four years.
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