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Army awaiting US resources to begin Waziristan offensive: FM

* Govt intends to take South Waziristan, hold it, integrate it into mainstream
* Pakistan wants US trust, drones, market access

LAHORE/WASHINGTON: With Pakistan planning a stepped up offensive in South Waziristan to eliminate the Taliban, security units are awaiting military resources promised by the US to begin the assault, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.

Talking to The Washington Times on Thursday, Qureshi said the new offensive would “be more ambitious than any other in the nation’s history” and the country’s security forces intended to take the agency, hold it and integrate its impoverished tribal population into mainstream society.

“We intend to drive them out, we intend to clear the territories of sanctuaries, we intend to hold that ground, we intend to amalgamate that area into mainstream Pakistan,” he said. Qureshi said the situation in the country had changed since democracy was restored in 2008 and the government and the military were now united against the Taliban threat.

The foreign minister said the timing of the offensive “will depend on the availability of our resources,” such as night-vision equipment and helicopters.

“Now [the US] wants quick delivery. Give us the resources to move at a faster pace,” he told the paper. He said unlike Afghanistan, Pakistan did not require US “boots on the ground” to set its wrongs right.

Qureshi did not comment on the potential US troop increase in Afghanistan, but said he thought US President Barack Obama would decide the matter by the end of this month or early next month, adding that Obama “should share his decision with Pakistan before it is announced”.

The foreign minister said that despite past disagreements, Pakistan was the “most important ally” in the region for Washington.

“We have been your consistent foul-weather friend,” Qureshi said. “Pakistan is going to be critical to your success and failure in Afghanistan.”

He said Pakistanis needed to be reassured that the US was making a “long-term commitment” to the region and was not going to abandon it as it did at the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Qureshi said Pakistan “supports and appreciates new US legislation that will give Pakistan $7.5 billion in economic aid over five years”.

He said the bill was “the first demonstration of engaging with the people of Pakistan” and said it would support urgent needs in education, health and poverty alleviation, the paper said.

But Qureshi said a debate was still on over the language of the bill, which he said his government intended to fully explain to parliament, military and the public.

“In politics, in legislation, there are compromises,” he said. “Are we on the same page as far as extremism is concerned? Are we on the same page as far as terrorism is concerned? Are we on the same page as far as democracies are concerned? Are we on the same page as far as social development is concerned? ... And the answer to that is yes, we are,” he said.

Accessible trust: Meanwhile, Reuters reported Qureshi as saying that Pakistan did not just want US aid, but greater market access for its goods, transfer of drone technology and above all, trust.

He said US aid would not harm Pakistan, but said the country was “not asking for you [US] to keep doling out aid, we are asking for greater market access. Better trade with the European Union and the US can help our economy stabilise.”

Qureshi also asked the US to stop doubting the Inter-Services Intelligence.

“If you keep doubting them, and don’t expect them to cooperate with you, that’s a contradiction,” he said. daily times monitor/reuters

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