Toner’s softer tone: ‘US committed to its relationship with Pakistan’
State dept says it wants to work constructively with Pakistan on Haqqani network.
WASHINGTON:
In a press briefing held at the US State Department on Monday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that the US government was committed to its relationship with Pakistan and wanted to work constructively with Pakistan on the Haqqani network.
In response to a question about why the Haqqani network had not been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), Toner said that leaders of the network had been targeted and designated as terrorists through executive orders and through the US Treasury Department. Toner said that the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence and Admiral Mullen had raised the issue of the Haqqani network and that the USG wanted Pakistan to take action against them.
However, the state department spokesperson declined to respond to a question about whether Pakistan’s support for the Haqqani network could be seen as an act of war.
Meanwhile, a US Senator called on the US government to cut military assistance to Pakistan in light of the allegations made by the US administration and military on Pakistan’s links with the Haqqani network.
In an interview on Morning Joe on MSNBC, Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) said that the Haqqani network posed a great danger to US forces in Afghanistan. Senator Kirk said that aid should be linked to Pakistan acting against the Haqqani network, adding that the US should be prepared to strike against them. He added that Pakistan had earlier supported the organisation responsible for the attack in Mumbai.
He also hailed the reduction in military assistance to Pakistan as done recently by the Senate Appropriations Committee for the fiscal year 2012.
Senator Kirk also called on President Obama to look towards India as a major player and to help them invest in Afghanistan. “I wish that a peaceful Afghanistan could be created out of Pakistan, but it appears that the Pakistani government has committed itself to terror.”
Senator Kirk’s statement is just one of many that have emerged in the past week after the US government and military officials publicly expressed concern about Pakistan and the ISI’s links with the Haqqani network. The militant group is believed to be responsible for the attacks in Kabul and Wardak on the US Embassy and US soldiers respectively.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2011.
In a press briefing held at the US State Department on Monday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that the US government was committed to its relationship with Pakistan and wanted to work constructively with Pakistan on the Haqqani network.
In response to a question about why the Haqqani network had not been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), Toner said that leaders of the network had been targeted and designated as terrorists through executive orders and through the US Treasury Department. Toner said that the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence and Admiral Mullen had raised the issue of the Haqqani network and that the USG wanted Pakistan to take action against them.
However, the state department spokesperson declined to respond to a question about whether Pakistan’s support for the Haqqani network could be seen as an act of war.
Meanwhile, a US Senator called on the US government to cut military assistance to Pakistan in light of the allegations made by the US administration and military on Pakistan’s links with the Haqqani network.
In an interview on Morning Joe on MSNBC, Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) said that the Haqqani network posed a great danger to US forces in Afghanistan. Senator Kirk said that aid should be linked to Pakistan acting against the Haqqani network, adding that the US should be prepared to strike against them. He added that Pakistan had earlier supported the organisation responsible for the attack in Mumbai.
He also hailed the reduction in military assistance to Pakistan as done recently by the Senate Appropriations Committee for the fiscal year 2012.
Senator Kirk also called on President Obama to look towards India as a major player and to help them invest in Afghanistan. “I wish that a peaceful Afghanistan could be created out of Pakistan, but it appears that the Pakistani government has committed itself to terror.”
Senator Kirk’s statement is just one of many that have emerged in the past week after the US government and military officials publicly expressed concern about Pakistan and the ISI’s links with the Haqqani network. The militant group is believed to be responsible for the attacks in Kabul and Wardak on the US Embassy and US soldiers respectively.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2011.