Islamabad: Pakistan's army has broken the "backbone" of Islamist militants in the country, the army chief said on Saturday in an apparent rebuttal to rising American criticism over the country's campaign against extremism.
It was unclear on what basis Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani made his comments. While the army has conducted several operations against militants close to the Afghan border, the country is routinely rocked by terror attacks and extremists still hold sway in many tribal regions.
In a televised address to the cadets at a Pakistan Military Academy in the northwestern town of Kakool, Kayani praised the role of his soldiers in the war on terror.
"In the war against terrorism, our officers and soldiers have made great sacrifices and have achieved tremendous successes," he said. "(The) terrorists' backbone had been broken."
Kayani in recent weeks has also visited tribal areas near the Afghan border to boost the morale of troops deployed there to fight Taliban who often target security forces and government officials.
The U.S. authorities want Pakistan to do more to eliminate insurgents. Earlier this month, a White House report said Pakistan had made little progress in the past year in battling militants, and there was "no clear path toward defeating the insurgency" in the country.
On Wednesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, accused the country's spy agency of continued links to the powerful network of an Afghan warlord.
Kayani through a statement rejected what he called "negative propaganda" by the United States and opposed the U.S. missile strikes, which often hit targets in North Waziristan tribal region.
Haqqanis are based in North Waziristan and Washington wants Pakistan to launch an offensive there.
It was unclear on what basis Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani made his comments. While the army has conducted several operations against militants close to the Afghan border, the country is routinely rocked by terror attacks and extremists still hold sway in many tribal regions.
In a televised address to the cadets at a Pakistan Military Academy in the northwestern town of Kakool, Kayani praised the role of his soldiers in the war on terror.
"In the war against terrorism, our officers and soldiers have made great sacrifices and have achieved tremendous successes," he said. "(The) terrorists' backbone had been broken."
Kayani in recent weeks has also visited tribal areas near the Afghan border to boost the morale of troops deployed there to fight Taliban who often target security forces and government officials.
The U.S. authorities want Pakistan to do more to eliminate insurgents. Earlier this month, a White House report said Pakistan had made little progress in the past year in battling militants, and there was "no clear path toward defeating the insurgency" in the country.
On Wednesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, accused the country's spy agency of continued links to the powerful network of an Afghan warlord.
Kayani through a statement rejected what he called "negative propaganda" by the United States and opposed the U.S. missile strikes, which often hit targets in North Waziristan tribal region.
Haqqanis are based in North Waziristan and Washington wants Pakistan to launch an offensive there.
No comments:
Post a Comment