Action likely in N. Waziristan, say US senators
By Anwar Iqbal
Monday, 11 Jan, 2010
WASHINGTON: Theres a possibility that Pakistan may take some action in North Waziristan in the near future, two US senators who visited Islamabad last week told a television channel on Sunday.
Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, and Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, also said that they left Islamabad convinced that Pakistan was fully committed to the war against terrorists.
In an interview to CNN, the two US lawmakers were asked to define US-Pakistan relations particularly addressing two issues: Islamabads complaint that there were too many strings attached to US aid and their concerns over the escalating number of drone attacks inside Fata.
Pakistan is a full partner in the war on terrorism. And I think John and I both felt that we have seen a really significant change in Pakistan on this visit, said Senator Lieberman.
I think they clearly understood that they, the Pakistani people, are the targets of terrorism. They have suffered terribly, including, for instance, attacks at mosques, terrorist attacks at mosques.
Senator Lieberman said that during the visit they also felt that the Pakistanis were beginning to understand the US position that the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban were interlinked and to defeat one, it was also important to combat the other.
I think they are also beginning to understand that there is not a clear separation between the Taliban thats fighting in Afghanistan and the Taliban fighting in Pakistan. There is an overlap, he said.
Describing Pakistanis as good partners in the war against terrorists, Senator Lieberman said that Senator McCain and he were particularly impressed with the commitment of the Pakistani military to the fight against terrorists.
We met with General Kayani, the chief of the army. The Pakistani army is on the move. It pushed the Taliban out of the Swat area. It pretty much cleared South Waziristan, he said.
I think there is a possibility that well see some movement in North Waziristan.
Without naming the dispute over the drone attacks, Senator Lieberman said that there were issues that we disagree on because it was a complicated relationship but fundamentally, Pakistan is our ally today in the war on terrorism, and a very critical ally.
At a briefing in Islamabad last week, both the Senators defended the drone attacks, saying that they were a critical element of our effort, our campaign, our strategy to deny the terrorists who are terrorising the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan a safe haven from which to strike them and us in the United States.
On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari asked the two senators to seek a halt to the drone attacks, saying that they were undermining domestic support for the war against the militants.
The drones often kill civilians as well as the targeted militants, causing a hostile reaction among the people both Pakistan and the US are trying to win over.
Further explaining the US-Pakistan relationship to his American audience, Senator Lieberman said this alliance was based on the understanding that both had a common enemy and together were going to beat it.
Senator McCain, while reviewing the situation in the Pak-Afghan region, warned that President Barack Obamas Dec 1 statement that the United States might start pulling back some of its troops by mid 2011 had reverberated throughout the region and bred uncertainty.
He urged the Obama administration to assure its allies and friends in Pakistan and Afghanistan that the US was there to win.
Senator McCain also said he believed there were no plans to build the Afghan army to the size thats necessary to take over the responsibilities that the US wanted to hand over to them.
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