pak-marine
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Polluters & politicians Polluters & politicians WASHINGTON: A senior US general told a Senate committee on Tuesday that Taliban militants were relocating from Quetta to Karachi, making it more difficult to apprehend them.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, however, hailed recent arrests in Pakistan of top Afghan Taliban leaders, defining the move as real progress in Islamabads efforts to defeat militancy.
Elements of the Afghan Taliban high command are beginning to relocate from Quetta to Karachi, due in large part to drone attacks, said Lt. Gen. John Paxton, director for operations at the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
And obviously this makes it more difficult to locate and apprehend the senior Taliban leadership, because Karachi is a major metropolitan city with over 3 million Pashtuns, he said.
The general, however, did not explain why drone attacks would force militants in Quetta to leave because so far there have been no strikes in Balochistan.
US Under-Secretary for Defence Policy Michele Flournoy told the Senate Armed Services Committee she would not like to discuss the impact of this relocation on Americas efforts to defeat the Taliban in an open session.
Its maybe more for some of our intelligence-agency brethren. But we can certainly talk about it more in a closed session, she said.
The two officials were testifying before the committee on the US-led Operation Mushtarak in southern Afghanistan.
Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, told the committee that the Taliban had also recruited thousands of new volunteers.
Secretary Flournoy, there are press reports that the Taliban have been able to build up their strength by about 35 per cent over the past two years in the Afghan-Pakistan border up by 7,000 more than in 2008 to about 27,000, said the senator.
Are those reports accurate, and what do you attribute it to if they are? he asked.
Sir, Id rather answer that in closed session if we could, said Ms Flournoy. At a Pentagon press conference, Secretary Gates said recent arrests in Pakistan of senior Taliban leaders would help stabilise the Afghan-Pakistan border region
Polluters & politicians Polluters & politicians WASHINGTON: A senior US general told a Senate committee on Tuesday that Taliban militants were relocating from Quetta to Karachi, making it more difficult to apprehend them.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, however, hailed recent arrests in Pakistan of top Afghan Taliban leaders, defining the move as real progress in Islamabads efforts to defeat militancy.
Elements of the Afghan Taliban high command are beginning to relocate from Quetta to Karachi, due in large part to drone attacks, said Lt. Gen. John Paxton, director for operations at the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
And obviously this makes it more difficult to locate and apprehend the senior Taliban leadership, because Karachi is a major metropolitan city with over 3 million Pashtuns, he said.
The general, however, did not explain why drone attacks would force militants in Quetta to leave because so far there have been no strikes in Balochistan.
US Under-Secretary for Defence Policy Michele Flournoy told the Senate Armed Services Committee she would not like to discuss the impact of this relocation on Americas efforts to defeat the Taliban in an open session.
Its maybe more for some of our intelligence-agency brethren. But we can certainly talk about it more in a closed session, she said.
The two officials were testifying before the committee on the US-led Operation Mushtarak in southern Afghanistan.
Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, told the committee that the Taliban had also recruited thousands of new volunteers.
Secretary Flournoy, there are press reports that the Taliban have been able to build up their strength by about 35 per cent over the past two years in the Afghan-Pakistan border up by 7,000 more than in 2008 to about 27,000, said the senator.
Are those reports accurate, and what do you attribute it to if they are? he asked.
Sir, Id rather answer that in closed session if we could, said Ms Flournoy. At a Pentagon press conference, Secretary Gates said recent arrests in Pakistan of senior Taliban leaders would help stabilise the Afghan-Pakistan border region
