U.S. may expand strikes inside Pak on actionable intelligence

U.S. President Barack Obama said that ever since occupying the White House, his administration has been trying to convince Pakistan that it is terrorism and not India which poses a threat to it

U.S. President Barack Obama at a function in Washington. File Photo: AP

Noting that it is terrorism that poses threat to Pakistan and not India, US President Barack Obama on Monday said that his administration would not hesitate from striking inside Pakistan if it had actionable intelligence against top al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.

“I don’t want to comment on certain sensitive aspects to our efforts in this border region. I think it is fair to say, number one, that my principle is if we’ve got actual war intelligence on high-ranking al-Qaeda leaders, or for those matter high-ranking Taliban leaders who are directing actions against US troops, then we will take action,” Mr. Obama said.

“A lot of this border region is big and complicated. And even a city like Quetta is a big city. And, you know, we have to respect the sovereignty of Pakistan as we engage in potential actions that would involve going into a major metropolitan area with a lot of civilians around it. We expect Pakistan to cooperate more effectively in the future than they have in the past,” Mr. Obama said in an interview to CBS news.

Terrorism, not India poses threat

Mr. Obama said that ever since occupying the White House, his administration has been trying to convince Pakistan that it is terrorism and not India which poses a threat to it and thus impressing upon Islamabad to shift more troops from its eastern border with India to its western front.

“We have had very detailed and serious conversations with the Pakistan government and the Pakistan military about the fact that their traditional orientation, which has been to compete with India, has now been overtaken by extremists within their own midst that are exploding bombs with impunity throughout Pakistan,” he said.

Cooperation against terrorism

At least a few time in his interview, Mr. Obama said he expects more cooperation from Pakistan in his fight against terrorism.

“As I’ve said before, part of the challenge here is for Pakistan to recognise the degree to which this threatens the stability of their government. This isn’t America’s war. This isn’t the West’s war.

“This is a situation in which you’ve got a very dangerous, extremist network that is growing, and right now is killing more Pakistanis than anybody else,” he said.

“We think that you’re starting to see certainly in terms of public opinion, as well as within the military, recognition of that growing threat. But it takes some times to operationalise, and our hope is that we see progress over the next couple of years,” Mr. Obama said.

Noting that the Pakistanis now recognise that these networks are killing Pakistanis a lot more than they’re killing Americans right now, and that it’s in their interest to start moving in a new direction, Mr. Obama said: “How fast they do that in part is gonna depend on how effectively we can partner with them.”