In by far the clearest public articulation of U.S. expectations from Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday asked Islamabad to “force the Haqqani network'' to come to the negotiating table.
She also made it clear that “boots on the ground” has never been a serious option for the U.S., adding that unilateral action was something Washington wants to avoid and the pressure on Pakistan to ‘do more' was to ensure against an untoward incident that might then force America's hand.
Asked if the U.S. wanted Islamabad to tackle the Haqqanis militarily or force them to the negotiating table, Ms. Clinton said: “Pakistan, for a variety of reasons, has the capacity to encourage, to push, ‘to squeeze' in Gen. Kayani's terms terrorists including the Haqqanis and the Afghan Taliban to be willing to engage in the peace process. This is what we are looking for.''
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In a series of televised interactions during her overnight stay in Islamabad after meeting with the civil and military leadership of the country, the Secretary sought to drive home the point that “you cannot keep snakes in your backyard and expect they will only bite the neighbours.''
Pointing out that the coalition forces and the Afghans had increased pressure on the Taliban on the Afghan side of the Pak-Afghan border, she said: “Across the border, we look to Pakistan to take strong steps to deny Afghan insurgents safe havens and to encourage the Taliban to enter negotiations in good faith.''
About the inherent contradiction in the “fight-and-talk'' strategy the U.S. is pursuing, she conceded the general perception but said experience had shown that “unfortunately it is both'' that will convince some to come to talks and remove those opposed to peace. Refusing to subscribe to the charge that the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan had failed and Washington was trying to make Pakistan a scapegoat, Ms. Clinton maintained it was a work in progress. “Our decision to increase military presence in Afghanistan to reverse the Taliban momentum has worked.''
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Seeking to dispel the perception that Pakistan was doing America's bidding, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said: “It is not about what the U.S. wants from us but about working together for common goals.” Maintaining that Pakistan would be guided by the will of the people as articulated through Parliament, she said the government wanted to give peace a chance and if that did not work then it would explore other options