Pakistan defiantly rides out US pressure on Haqqanis
Bilateral relations likely to go further downhill :
PAKISTAN: Pakistan has stared down an unprecedented outbreak
of US fury over its refusal to reign in the Haqqani network, gaining
Washington little and teeing relations up for further decline.
When the retiring chief US military officer, once Pakistan’s best
American friend, accused Pakistani intelligence of involvement in a
19-hour siege on the US embassy in Kabul, it seemed to signal a sharp
change in US policy.
In unprecedented condemnation, Admiral Mike Mullen described the
Haqqani network as the “veritable arm” of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“If they keep killing our troops, that would not be something we would
just sit idly by and watch,” Mullen warned on September 22.
Four days earlier, US ambassador Cameron Munter fired the starting
gun on a concerted campaign to escalate pressure significantly on the
nuclear-armed power long distrusted for its double dealings with terror
groups.
“There is evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistan
government. This is something that must stop,” he told Radio Pakistan.
AFP |