fatman17
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Date Posted: 22-Jan-2010
Jane's Defence Weekly
Pakistan seeks more US weaponry to fight militants
Farhan Bokhari JDW Correspondent - Islamabad
Pakistan has renewed calls for the United States to provide it with additional helicopters, night-vision equipment, body armour and light- to medium-sized weapons to enable its forces to widen the country's campaign against Taliban militants in areas along the Afghan border, a government minister told Jane's on 22 January.
The renewed request was passed on to US officials and coincided with a visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived in Islamabad on 21 January for two days of meetings with Pakistan's civil and military leaders.
In public, Pakistan's civil and military officials have said there are no plans for an imminent campaign targeting the north Waziristan area along the Afghan border. The US appears to be urgently seeking such a campaign following the 30 December 2009 suicide bombing at a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) camp in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province that killed seven CIA employees.
Following the attack, the Jordanian militant who blew himself up at the CIA camp was seen in a video with Hakeemullah Mehsud, leader of the Taliban militants on the Pakistani side of the country's border with Afghanistan.
"The US is, of course, eager for action in north Waziristan and the pressure has grown since the attack on Khost, but to launch such a campaign we need to have our troops properly equipped," said one Pakistani minister who spoke to Jane's on condition of anonymity.
A Western defence official in Islamabad said the US is increasingly anxious to seek more active co-operation from Pakistan as it prepares for a surge of its troops in Afghanistan under a new strategy endorsed by US President Barack Obama.
Additional US troops will inevitably require greater Pakistani support, for example in overseeing more convoys carrying supplies for Afghanistan-based US troops being driven through Pakistan, said the Western defence official. While the US has tried to establish alternative supply routes through Central Asia, it still principally relies on convoys routed via Pakistan.
"There is an interesting coincidence of many factors," noted the official. "The US sees Pakistan as part of the problem because there are Taliban militants operating on Pakistani soil, but [the US] also realises any campaign in Afghanistan cannot succeed without Pakistan's help."
Date Posted: 22-Jan-2010
Jane's Defence Weekly
Pakistan seeks more US weaponry to fight militants
Farhan Bokhari JDW Correspondent - Islamabad
Pakistan has renewed calls for the United States to provide it with additional helicopters, night-vision equipment, body armour and light- to medium-sized weapons to enable its forces to widen the country's campaign against Taliban militants in areas along the Afghan border, a government minister told Jane's on 22 January.
The renewed request was passed on to US officials and coincided with a visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived in Islamabad on 21 January for two days of meetings with Pakistan's civil and military leaders.
In public, Pakistan's civil and military officials have said there are no plans for an imminent campaign targeting the north Waziristan area along the Afghan border. The US appears to be urgently seeking such a campaign following the 30 December 2009 suicide bombing at a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) camp in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province that killed seven CIA employees.
Following the attack, the Jordanian militant who blew himself up at the CIA camp was seen in a video with Hakeemullah Mehsud, leader of the Taliban militants on the Pakistani side of the country's border with Afghanistan.
"The US is, of course, eager for action in north Waziristan and the pressure has grown since the attack on Khost, but to launch such a campaign we need to have our troops properly equipped," said one Pakistani minister who spoke to Jane's on condition of anonymity.
A Western defence official in Islamabad said the US is increasingly anxious to seek more active co-operation from Pakistan as it prepares for a surge of its troops in Afghanistan under a new strategy endorsed by US President Barack Obama.
Additional US troops will inevitably require greater Pakistani support, for example in overseeing more convoys carrying supplies for Afghanistan-based US troops being driven through Pakistan, said the Western defence official. While the US has tried to establish alternative supply routes through Central Asia, it still principally relies on convoys routed via Pakistan.
"There is an interesting coincidence of many factors," noted the official. "The US sees Pakistan as part of the problem because there are Taliban militants operating on Pakistani soil, but [the US] also realises any campaign in Afghanistan cannot succeed without Pakistan's help."