The U.S. military is planning to set up new training centres inside Pakistan where American special operations trainers would work with Pakistani forces close to the Afghan border battle zone, a senior defence official said.
The new centres would supplement two already operating in Pakistan, and they would be used to accelerate and expand the training of Pakistani forces considered key to rooting out al Qaeda leaders hiding along the mountainous border, the official said.
The plan would put U.S. forces closer to al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents, a carefully calibrated expansion of the military role inside Pakistan, where the terrorists are believed planning the next attacks against the United States.
Staffing the new centres will require an increase in the more than 100 U.S. special operations forces in Pakistan for the training effort, but Pentagon officials do not yet know how much of a boost will be needed, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about internal discussions.
U.S. officials see their effort to train Pakistan’s forces, which includes the country’s paramilitary Frontier Corps, its Special Service Group commandos and its Army, as a growing success.
