U.S. warning over Taliban safe havens
ISLAMABAD — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Pakistan to deliver a tough message on the importance of fighting extremists and driving them from hideouts on Pakistani territory.
Tillerson arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday, a day after traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan in conditions of strict secrecy. He met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Foreign Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif and the heads of the army and intelligence services.
Shortly before, Tillerson had alluded to U.S. concerns that Pakistan is providing safe haven to terrorist groups. Tillerson has said U.S. aid may be cut if Pakistan does not act more proactively against the groups, and Islamabad is jeopardizing Pakistan’s future by not pushing out militant groups that range across the border into Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported.
In response, Abbasi said Pakistan is “committed in the war against terror. We have produced results and we are looking forward to moving ahead with the U.S. and building a tremendous relationship. The U.S. can rest assured that we are strategic partners in the war against terror and that today Pakistan is fighting the largest war in the world against terror.”
Abassi added that Pakistan needs to “take a clear-eyed view” of its position and act.
“Pakistan needs to, I think, take a clear-eyed view of the situation that they are confronted with in terms of the number of terrorist organizations that find safe haven inside of Pakistan,” Abassi said.
Earlier this month, the campaign appeared to produce some success when Pakistani security forces assisted with the release of a Taliban-held U.S.-Canadian family after five years in captivity. However, officials cautioned that action needed to be followed with additional steps.
Tillerson, who will visit India after Pakistan, is in South Asia to outline the Trump administration’s new strategy for the region, which is heavy on combatting extremist groups.
U.S. officials have long accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye or assisting the Afghan Taliban and the allied Haqqani network. Pakistan routinely denies colluding with the militants.
In early October, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional hearing that it was clear to him that Pakistan’s intelligence service had connections to militant groups.