US wants an end to fire fights between Pakistan and Afghanistan

US wants an end to fire fights between Pakistan and Afghanistan

The US delegation in Islamabad recently stressed the need for an end to skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, made the note known on Friday, October 21, during an interview with an American News Network Channel. She told the newscaster about the demand made by the US administration.

She explained that General John Allen spoke of the matter with Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Both men agreed on the desired outcome and there would be a move made to stop the confrontation from both ends of the border.

Cross border firing has been common between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces and the Pakistan Army. There has been a high need to stop the confrontation as the local communities are being adversely affected.

Clinton told her interviewer on what her mission was concerning this matter.

“We were trying to dig into what sparked these cross-border skirmishes between the two neighbouring nations”, She said.

The Secretary of State arrived in Islamabad on Thursday, October 20, to meet with the Pakistani Leadership. There is widespread belief that the US administration desires a Pakistan military incursion into the Waziristan region due to the rampant violence spreading across Afghanistan. The US administration believes that some elements within the Pakistan government and army are working with the militants.

The US has been specifically targeting the Haqqani Network: a militant group the country believes to be responsible for the major problems in Afghanistan. A military operation is something that government desires out of the Pakistan Armed Forces but there have been concerns relating to operational constraints that could lead the military contingent into an all out civil war with the tribes in Waziristan.

Clinton stands by Admiral Mike Mullen’s assertions that the Haqqani Network is working with the influence of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence. She believes that the Haqqanis were never against the US before but all of a sudden there has been a policy shift on their end.

The US Secretary of State believes that Pakistan needs to stop its questionable activities and become a solution to the disturbance, across the country.

“They must be part of the solution and that means ridding their own country of terrorists who kill their own people and cross the border to kill in Afghanistan.”We’re going to be fighting, we’re going to be talking and we’re going to be building. And they can either be helping or hindering, but we are not going to stop our efforts.”

There are widespread rumors that the US administration may be seeking to push the Haqqani Network into a peace deal in Afghanistan. The recent intensifying of attacks in Waziristan and across the Pakistan border are tactics to rather bring the militant group to the negotiation table. The White House is yet to call the Haqqanis, terrorists, and they have openly refrained from doing so.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=1074

Posted by Zuhaib Gull on Oct 21 2011. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry