A day after U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen stirred the hornet’s nest by referring to continued links between Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Haqqani terrorist network while repeating the `Pakistan-must-do-more’ mantra, Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Thursday rejected this as ``negative propaganda’’.
Gen. Kayani is said to have countered the U. S. hard talk during his meeting with Admiral Mullen at the General Headquarters. According to the Inter Services Public Relations, he also reiterated Pakistan’s stance that drone attacks not only undermine the national effort against terrorism but also turns public support against the Government’s efforts. Stating that public support for the fight against terrorism is crucial to the success of this endeavour, he underscored the Army’s ongoing operations.
On Wednesday, in an interview to The Dawn, Admiral Mullen said the ISI’s relationship with the Haqqani network was unacceptable to the American leadership as it had fuelled the Afghan insurgency. The U.S. has been breathing down on Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network in its safe haven in North Waziristan but Islamabad’s contention is that the Army cannot afford to open too many fronts at the same time.
Though the U.S. and Pakistan are in the midst of trying to mend a particularly frayed relationship, Admiral Mullen did not mince words while speaking about ISI links with the Haqqani network. ``It is fairly well known that ISI had a relationship with the Haqqani network and addressing the Haqqani network from my perspective is critical to the solution in Afghanistan…. That’s at the core. It’s not the only thing, but that’s at the core that I think is the most difficult part of the relationship.’’
Given the fact that drone attacks and increased presence of Central Intelligence Agency personnel in Pakistan is hardening public opinion against the U.S., the Pakistani leadership has been trying to drive home the need to respect sovereignty and address the trust deficit between institutions and people.
During the discussions Admiral Mullen held with the Pakistani military leadership, he also sought to draw their attention to the growing footprint of other terror networks based in Pakistan including the Laskhar-e-Taiba, the Jama’at-ud-Da’wah and the Tehreek-e-Taliban. ``There is a syndication which has occurred in the region here over the course of the last three years,’’ he was reported as stating while expressing concern over the aspirations of these groups to grow beyond the Af-Pak region.
