Pakistan, November 30: Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani says that the US’s decision to send thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan may destabilize his country.
Gilani, in an interview with DPA, said in Islamabad on Sunday that an increase in US troops in Afghanistan is likely to lead to a spill over of militants inside Pakistan.
Civilians and military officials in Islamabad say the US troop build up could force Taliban militants to infiltrate into Pakistani southwestern province of Balochistan that borders Helmand.
The premier also added that the surge would make the situation worse across the border region.
Hundreds of militants fled into the country after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began eight years ago.
Ahead of his first visit to Germany, Gilani said US President Barack Obama would have to formulate the military strategy for Afghanistan in consultation with Pakistan.
Gilani’s remarks come as Obama is widely expected to send more than 34,000 extra American troops in the conflict-torn country.
Although nearly 110,000 foreign troops are currently fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan, they have not been able to provide stability to the country.
Pakistan has been witnessing increasing violence ever since the country joined the so-called US-led war on terror. Deadly attacks and bombings have killed more than 2,550 people in 29 months across Pakistan in recent years.
—Agencies