Washington, October 07: The US has turned the heat up on Pakistan once again with the latest reprimand coming in from US President Barack Obama himself, who was concerned about the ISI links with terror groups. He even said that Pakistan must adopt a peaceful approach towards India.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to India and the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement found echoes in Washington.
Briefing journalists in Washington, US President Obama, without naming the Haqqani network, hinted at its linkages with Pakistani intelligence.
“There is no doubt that there is some connection that the Pakistani military and intelligence services have with certain individuals that we find trouble. I’ve said that publicly and I’ve said that privately to Pakistani officials as well. They see their security interest threatened by an independent Afghanistan in part because they think they will ally themselves to India and Pakistan still considers India their mortal enemy,” Obama said.
He added, “A part of what we want to do is actually get Pakistan to realise that a peaceful approach towards India would be in everybody’s interest.”
US President Obama also indicated his determination to defend America’s interest in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region by acting unilaterally, which only underscored the rift between Washington and Islamabad.
——-Agencies