US Wants Action Against Haqqani Network İn Pakistan

The United States want Pakistan to "do more" to target the powerful Haqqani network, a group blamed for numerous attacks on foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.



The U.S., who are dissatisfied with the pace of military operations against Taliban militants in restive North Waziristan, say Pakistan's assurances are not sufficient to appease it on the so-called 'war on terror.'



Pakistan maintains it has been acting against militants from all alliances, including the Haqqani network, which is believed to be holed up in North Waziristan.



The Special U.S. representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, James Dobbins who held detailed meetings with top Pakistani civil and military leaders including Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, and Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on Tuesday in Islamabad, conveyed his country's reservations over North Waziristan's operations.



Dobbins was not the only one who cast doubts on the effectiveness of the ongoing military onslaught which so far has seen the death of 530 suspected militants. General Joseph Dunford, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, also expressed his reservations.  



Dunford admitted the Pakistani army had some "successes" against local and Uzbek militants, however, it had not so far effectively hit the Haqqani network.



A senior military official confirmed Dobbins' reservations expressed in the meeting with Pakistani army chief:



"The army chief made it clear to the U.S. special representative that the Pakistan army was taking action against the Taliban irrespective of their affiliation," the official told the Anadolu Agency wishing not to be named.



"General Raheel rejected the reports as baseless that the army had moved the Haqqani network militants to other parts of the tribal belt before launching the North Waziristan operation," the official said.



Afghanistan too last week blamed Pakistan for taking action against local Taliban and sparing the Haqqani network completely.



Dattakhel town, which lies on Pakistan-Afghanistan border is considered a stronghold of Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, the public face of the Haqqani network. The thickly-forested mountaineer town has been the target of U.S. drone strikes killing around 40 suspected militants in three attacks over the last month.



The Pakistan army which launched the much-demanded invasion of North Waziristan on June 15, claims it cleared three major towns of militants - Miranshah, the administrative headquarters, Mir Ali and Boya. The army is now advancing towards Dattakhel, which according to security experts, would be a hard area to penetrate due to its remoteness. 



Security experts believe air strikes and drone attacks would be the most preferable weapon against militants holed up in Dattakhel.



The CIA have used drone attacks to target Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the Waziristan region since 2004. Over 3,300 people, including many Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, have been killed in Waziristan over the last decade. Human rights organizations; however, blame the U.S. for collateral damage as, according to international think tanks and Pakistani intelligence officials, over 70 per cent of the deceased were unarmed citizens, including women and children.



Publicly, Pakistan denounces the drone strikes, and dubs them a violation of its sovereignty, but many believe the two countries have a tacit understanding on the issue.



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