‘Young Pak military officers oppose terror’
washington — The new generation of Pakistani military officers is more sensitive to terrorism than its predecessors, says Robin Raphel, former assistant secretary of state for South Asia, rejecting a claim by the Afghan ambassador that those officers are more likely to back terrorism than current Pakistani commanders, reports Dawn online.
At a weekend seminar on Afghanistan at the Aspen Institute, California, America’s most prestigious forum on security issues, Raphel said a lack of clarity in Washington’s policies was preventing Pakistan from breaking its links with the Haqqani network.
Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador in Washington, spoke before Raphel and urged the international community to stop supporting Pakistan. “Pakistan is moving toward becoming a state that supports terrorism as an element of foreign policy, to a state that believes in terrorism,” he claimed.
He alleged that the new cadre of officers in the Pakistani military believed in terrorism as an ideology and as those officers rose through the ranks, they would create more problems for the world.
“If we continue to give Pakistan a free pass, imagine the conflict at a time when the military is one million strong, has nuclear weapons, has sophisticated intelligence and believes in extremism at its core,” he warned.
He also urged the international community to work with the Pakistani civilian leadership to keep
Robin Raphel snubs Afghan ambassador
> Robin Raphel, former assistant secretary of state for South Asia, rejects a claim by Afghan ambassador to the US. > Afghan envoy says the international community should work with the Pakistani civilian leadership to keep the military in check. the military in check. Since Pakistan’s ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary decided not to attend the seminar because of a recent experience in Washington where he was hooted and ridiculed at a similar event, Raphel was apparently the only friend Pakistan had in the seminar. She told the Afghan > A lack of clarity in Washington’s policies is preventing Pakistan from breaking its links with the Haqqani network. > Pakistan’s ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary decides not to attend the seminar because of a recent bad experience. ambassador that his statement was “a little bit misleading” and inaccurate.
Raphel, who is an old friend of Pakistan and had to face an FBI inquiry last year because of her alleged links with Islamabad, also disagreed with Mohib’s claim that “terrorism and Pakistan are equated”.