WASHINGTON: Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani will not eliminate insurgent safe havens within his country from where Taliban and al-Qaeda elements launch attacks against the coalition troops in Afghanistan, because he doesn't trust US motivations and is hedging his bets for when America's strategy fails, says the Washington Post.
Recent US intelligence has validated this premise as Kayani refused to budge despite personal appeals from President Obama, General David Petraeus and other US military leaders and diplomats. Kayani's rationale is based on many factors.
He is hesitant to launch attacks against terrorist sanctuaries because it could incite domestic terrorism and uproot local communities. Plus, anti-American sentiments run high throughout Pakistan, and launching an offensive into North Waziristan would cost the military public support.
Kayani says he is worried about the end game in the region while the US is worried about the next drone strike in North Waziristan. Kayani has been furious with Americans lately because of the recent WikiLeaks fiasco, as diplomatic cables depicted him as chummy with the US and was quoted as discussing a possible removal of Pakistan's president and his preferred replacement. According to the Post on the eve of the cable's publication in November, the normally aloof and soft-spoken general ranted for hours on the subject of irreconcilable US-Pakistan differences in a session with a group of Pakistani journalists.
The two countries' "frames of reference" regarding regional security "can never be the same," he said, according to news accounts. Calling Pakistan America's "most bullied ally," Kayani said that the "Real aim of US strategy is to de-nuclearise Pakistan", the Post said.
