New York: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has reportedly told Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Seville, Spain on Friday, that he would like to see the Pakistani military act against the safe havens of the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Special Assistant for Public Affairs for the CJCS Captain John Kirby said that Admiral Mullen had expressed his “deep concerns about the increasing and increasingly brazen activities of the Haqqani network.”
In a private one-on-one meeting that lasted for over two hours, Admiral Mullen and General Kayani agreed that the US-Pakistan relationship was “vital to the region and that both sides had taken positive steps to improve that relationship over the past few months.”
Pakistan and US relations continued its downward spiral after comments from US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta said that the US could take unilateral action against the Haqqani network based in Pakistani territory like they took against Osama bin Laden.
The leader of Taliban Haqqani group, Sirajuddin Haqqani, in a message said that there were no Haqqani sanctuaries in Pakistan.
Responding to US pressure on Pakistan it to do more, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has reflected sentiments of the nation by telling the Unied States that it is now United States's turn to do more as Pakistan has already done enough.
Though the Prime Minister has cited floods in Sindh as the reason behind cancellation of his US visit but there are credible reports that it has something to do with the American attitude and hardened position as well.
