Pakistan wants 'more clarity' on new US Afghan strategy
Pakistan wants "more clarity" on US President Barack Obama's new Afghan war strategy, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said yesterday.
"We are studying that new policy. We need more clarity on it," he said after talks in London with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, referring to Obama's pledge of 30,000 more US troops for Afghanistan.
The Pakistani premier added that US and Nato military commander in Afghanistan US General Stanley McChrystal would be going to Pakistan to discuss "more military cooperation."
"After, when we get more clarity on the situation, then we will see how if we can implement on that plan," he told reporters in a joint press conference with Brown.
A Pakistani foreign ministry statement Wednesday, reacting to Obama's long-awaited announcement, made no mention of welcoming the troop increases, which many fear could be counterproductive for Pakistan.
Pakistan has raised fears that an influx of soldiers into Afghanistan could again push militants over the border, destabilising an already-troubled region.
In other comments Gilani said Islamabad does not believe al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is on its territory. "I don't think Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan," he said.
Last weekend Brown called on Pakistan to step up its action against al-Qaeda and hunt down leader bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, still at large eight years after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
After Thursday's talks Brown said: "The international community expects much of Pakistan," adding: "What we've all got to do is work together (and) step up our efforts."
In Washington, the Obama administration sought Wednesday to win firmer backing from Islamabad in fighting extremism by pledging to sharply step up support for Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation wary of US actions.
Islamabad asked Washington to help ensure "there would be no adverse fallout on Pakistan" after US President Barack Obama announced in a speech Tuesday he would send 30,000 more troops to neighbouring Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought Wednesday to reassure Pakistan it would have a long-term partner in Washington as she gave testimony to US lawmakers about the new strategy.
"We will significantly expand support intended for Pakistan to develop the potential of their people," Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowing not to repeat past US mistakes in the region.
The chief US diplomat said those errors had allowed Taliban and al-Qaeda elements to thrive in the border regions of Pakistan, a country she warned that had a nuclear arsenal.
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