Frank message: Clinton told Pakistan to shut down safe havens
Clinton testified before congress that Pakistan was told take urgent action against Haqqani networks, safe haves.
WASHINGTON DC:
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday renewed her call for Pakistan to close militant safe havens, saying the uneasy partner must be "unequivocal" in its approach.
Testifying before Congress after a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Clinton said she delivered a "frank" message to Pakistan that it was urgent that action against the extremist Haqqani network be taken, which she blamed for anti-US attacks in Afghanistan.
(Read: Work harder to 'squeeze' Haqqanis, Clinton tells Pakistan)
"I explained that trying to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad terrorists is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous," Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected.
"We look to Pakistan to encourage the Taliban and other insurgents to participate in an Afghan peace process in good faith - both through unequivocal public statements and by closing off the safe havens," she added.
(Read: U-turn?: Convince Taliban to talk, US asks Pakistan)
Clinton used unusually strong language on last week's trip, saying that US tolerance has worn thin after indications that the Haqqani network is targeting Americans, including through a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul.
The top US diplomat supported the assessment of the outgoing US military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, who last month said that the Haqqani network was a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
During Clinton's visit, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that both her country and Afghanistan can do more against militants but denied any official support for the Haqqani network.
Surprisingly, while in Pakistan, Clinton admitted that the US itself had made attempts to hold talks with the Haqqani network, even had held a meeting with them. At the end of her trip to Pakistan, she stressed that Pakistan must broker talks between the US and the Haqqani network.
(Read: Change of tack on the Haqqanis)
Pakistan, once the primary backer of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, switched sides to join the United States in its military campaign after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday renewed her call for Pakistan to close militant safe havens, saying the uneasy partner must be "unequivocal" in its approach.
Testifying before Congress after a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Clinton said she delivered a "frank" message to Pakistan that it was urgent that action against the extremist Haqqani network be taken, which she blamed for anti-US attacks in Afghanistan.
(Read: Work harder to 'squeeze' Haqqanis, Clinton tells Pakistan)
"I explained that trying to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad terrorists is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous," Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected.
"We look to Pakistan to encourage the Taliban and other insurgents to participate in an Afghan peace process in good faith - both through unequivocal public statements and by closing off the safe havens," she added.
(Read: U-turn?: Convince Taliban to talk, US asks Pakistan)
Clinton used unusually strong language on last week's trip, saying that US tolerance has worn thin after indications that the Haqqani network is targeting Americans, including through a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul.
The top US diplomat supported the assessment of the outgoing US military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, who last month said that the Haqqani network was a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
During Clinton's visit, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that both her country and Afghanistan can do more against militants but denied any official support for the Haqqani network.
Surprisingly, while in Pakistan, Clinton admitted that the US itself had made attempts to hold talks with the Haqqani network, even had held a meeting with them. At the end of her trip to Pakistan, she stressed that Pakistan must broker talks between the US and the Haqqani network.
(Read: Change of tack on the Haqqanis)
Pakistan, once the primary backer of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, switched sides to join the United States in its military campaign after the September 11, 2001 attacks.