Obama warning on Pakistan 'haven'

[genmirajborgza786]

Obama warning on Pakistan 'haven'
US President Barack Obama has said his administration will not allow "safe havens" for militants in Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Mr Obama's comments at his first White House prime-time news conference came as his envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, arrived in Pakistan.

Mr Holbrooke, who said he was there to "listen and learn" about the region, began key meetings on Tuesday.

Mr Holbrooke earlier said the situation in Pakistan was "dire".

Financial concerns

Mr Obama said Mr Holbrooke would convey his message to Islamabad.

"My bottom line is that we cannot allow al-Qaeda to operate," he said. "We cannot have those safe havens in that region."


Mr Obama added: "We're going to have to work both smartly and effectively, but with consistency in order to make sure that those safe havens don't exist."
The US president said he had appointed Mr Holbrooke as a special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan to give a new focus to dealing with terrorism.

"I've sent over Richard Holbrooke - one of our top diplomats - to evaluate a regional approach," he said. "We are going to need more effective coordination of our military efforts with diplomatic efforts, with development efforts, with more effective coordination with our allies in order for us to be successful."

Mr Obama said he had no schedule for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

"I do not have yet a timetable for how long that's going to take. What I know is... I'm not going to allow al-Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden to operate with impunity, planning attacks on the US homeland."


Mr Holbrooke met Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday and will later meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the main Pakistani focus will be trying to squeeze more money out of the US, particularly for reconstruction in the tribal areas and the revival of a US bill pledging long-term assistance that has been gathering dust in Washington.

Mr Holbrooke will be well aware of his financial leverage, our correspondent says, and will be pushing to devise mechanisms that will minimise the role of the Pakistani security establishment in charting the country's geo-political strategies.

The envoy is likely to restate the need for Pakistan to do more to tackle militants and express concern over the recent release of disgraced nuclear scientist AQ Khan from house arrest.

Pakistan in turn has repeatedly criticised US drone attacks on militants in its territory.

The fallout from the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks will also be on Mr Holbrooke's agenda.

Mr Holbrooke will later visit Afghanistan and India.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Obama warning on Pakistan 'haven'

Published: 2009/02/10 07:20:08 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Print Sponsor

Advertisement

 

[acer]

Everybody says same ...But no one does anything about it...

 

[genmirajborgza786]

pakistan will have to play its diplomatic card's well on this one in every dark cloud there is a silver lining on every problem lies a new opportunity if good foreign policy can be utilized this can open the doors to a very productive PAK-ASEAN, PAK-RUSSIA-PAK-CHINA-PAK-IRAN geo-political alliance

 

[hassanr74]

i don't USA is fighting in AFhganistan for so many yaers and saying the same thing. i think to hide that they have lost the war

 

[Pk_Thunder]

Obama, Zardari agree on ‘active engagement’​

By Baqir Sajjad Syed
Wednesday, 11 Feb, 2009 | 10:15 PM PST |

ISLAMABAD: President Obama and President Zardari on Wednesday agreed on 'active engagement' for resolving the problems confronting the region particularly militancy and extremism.
President Obama telephoned his counterpart Asif Ali Zardari to exchange views on bilateral relations, situation in the region and other issues of mutual interest.
'Both agreed to start an active engagement for the resolution of problems facing our region through a holistic strategy,' the Foreign Office said in a statement on President Obama’s call.
The call, which was the first interaction between President Obama, after his assumption of office last month, with President Zardari, came at a time when US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is visiting Pakistan on what is being described as 'exploratory visit' ahead of the policy review on the region.
President Obama had earlier said that the special US envoy was carrying his message for the Pakistani leadership that safe havens for terrorists along the country’s borders must be rooted out.
Both the leaders in their telephone conversation are said to have underscored the need for a joint strategy to bring peace and security to the region.
President Zardari told President Obama that with the new administration in the White House he hoped there will be a beneficial change for the world, particularly for this region and the Pakistan-US relations.
President Obama reiterated his continued support for democracy, socio-economic and human development in Pakistan.

 

[Neo]

Afghanistan must not be allowed to destabilise Pakistan: Kerry​

WASHINGTON (February 11 2009): Influential US senator John Kerry has said that strengthening Pakistani democratic government must be a key part of the regional approach to curb militancy in the region and that Afghanistan should not be allowed to destabilise Pakistan.

"The United States is not in Afghanistan to make it our 51st state-but to make sure it does not become an al Qaeda narco-state and terrorist beachhead capable of destabilising neighbouring Pakistan," he emphasised in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.

The seasoned lawmaker, who heads the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argued that Washington's strategy must also reflect the interconnectedness of the region. "This requires redoubled efforts to strengthen Pakistan's civilian government and support its efforts against militants in the lawless border areas and the factions that would sabotage its relations with India."

In the piece entitled 'A Race Against Time in Afghanistan' the Massachusetts Senator said the United States "must renew our original mission-and President Obama has rightly pledged to recommit to Afghanistan as the centre of our global counterinsurgency campaign, beginning with the deployment of as many as 30,000 additional troops."