ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s support can help destabilise the Taliban far more rapidly than the US military operations alone could, US Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee other US authorities held.
In statements released to the media since a US drone strike eliminated Taliban chief Mullah Mansour in Balochistan, US officials and lawmakers have repeatedly urged Pakistan to take immediate action against the militants reported to be hiding inside this country, daily Dawn reported .
At the State Department, spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing in Washington on Thursday that this was part of “an ongoing conversation” that the United States has had with authorities in Pakistan.
“They need to address all groups operating on their soil Taliban groups that are operating on their soil and their territory,” he claimed. “We’ve urged them to do so in the past. We continue to urge them to do so and have worked with them on addressing the very real threat on their own soil”.
Another US official reminded Pakistan that the alleged “remaining terrorist sanctuaries inside Pakistan’s borders afford extremists the ability to undermine Afghanistan’s stability and target US and coalition forces in Afghanistan”, the newspaper report said.
While US officials were careful not to directly blame Pakistan for the presence of militants in the region, US lawmakers were not. They directly blamed Pakistan for “hiding and protecting” the militants of Haqqani network who, they claimed, were targeting US and Afghan troops in Afghanistan.
Senator Corker said that while Mullah Mansour’s elimination was “an important victory in the fight against terror,” such strikes alone could not achieve the desired result of uprooting the Taliban movement”.
“If Pakistan would play a more constructive role, we could destabilise the Taliban far more rapidly,” Corker quoted as saying in the report.
Mr Corker is the same senator who blocked US financing for the F-16 sale to Pakistan, and reflects the new negative mood on Capitol Hill where it is becoming increasingly difficult to lobby for Pakistan. (AGENCIES)
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