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NATO hopes Pakistan can focus on Afghan border security
Brussels (AFP) Dec 3, 2008 NATO expressed hope Wednesday that Pakistan would keep up the fight against extremists on the Afghan border, amid Indian accusations that Islamabad had a hand in the Mumbai attacks. The military alliance relies on Pakistani security forces to help keep pressure on Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants using its lawless tribal areas as a rear base for attacks in Afghanistan, where NATO troops are at work. "I hope that the recent successes by Pakistan in fighting the extremists in the northwest will be sustained, in the current difficult climate," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters. "Up till now, no signal or information has been received" that this is not the case, he said, after a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels. His remarks came as India's foreign minister said that all options were open in dealing with Pakistan following last week's militant attacks on Mumbai, which killed at least 188 people and wounded 300 others. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Pakistan to build up its economic, political and security apparatus to confront the threat posed by terrorism around the country. "There's a direct threat to the integrity of the Pakistani state that is imposed by terrorism," he said. "It is terrorism that can come from the west, from the ungoverned areas, but it's also a threat to the integrity of Pakistan that can come from militant groups that strike or claim common cause with Kashmir issues." "So building up the necessary security but also the economic and political apparatus in Pakistan is the exact counterpart to the efforts that need to be made in Afghanistan," he said. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) wants to broaden the rule of the weak Afghan government and foster reconstruction, but it is struggling against a tenacious Taliban-led insurgency. Scheffer also urged NATO allies to stump up more troops to the 53,000-strong force, with commanders requesting reinforcements of around 20,000 soldiers, many expected to come from the United States. "The insurgency and tactics ... require more forces on the ground in Afghanistan simply to be able to hold territory, to start the development and reconstruction," he said. "We do not have sufficient forces to make that happen." Related Links News From Across The Stans
Outside View: Pakistan's Mumbai alibi
Manipal, India (UPI) Dec 1, 2008 Since the terror attacks on Mumbai five days ago, Indian security sources have promoted evidence that the attackers were trained by elements of the Pakistani military. (Copyright 2008 M.D. Nalapat) |
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