Daily Times

WASHINGTON: General Joseph Votel, responsible for all US military operations in Pakistan-Afghan region, told a congressional panel on Tuesday that the United States (US) had always valued the military-to-military relationship with Pakistan and had made efforts to sustain transparency and communication with military leaders.

US shows great concerns about Pakistan’s alleged provision of locale and aid to militants and terrorist organizations that ambush US personnel and interests, he added.

“Achieving long-term stability in Afghanistan and defeating the insurgency will be difficult without Pakistan’s support and assistance,” said Gen Votel while explaining why he believed maintaining this military-to-military relationship was important.

General Votel added that the US military had recently identified some ‘positive indicators’ from Pakistan, such as an increased communication, actions on the ground and sharing information on request, which proved that Pakistan was now more responsive regarding their concerns about alleged militant shelters in the country.

The US commander emphasized however that Pakistan had not yet made a change in policy, which could satisfy Washington. “Ongoing national counter-terrorism efforts against anti-Pakistan militants throughout the country have not yet translated into the definitive actions we require Pakistan to take against Afghan Taliban or Haqqani leaders,” he added.

Gen Votel also told the House Armed Services Committee that ‘enduring tension between the nuclear powers of India and Pakistan remains un-reconciled’.

He added that cross-border terrorist attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan were a reason for impeding coordination between both countries on border security.