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| 08 December 2004 | Wednesday | 25 Shawwal 1425 |
US praises Pakistan army
WASHINGTON, Dec 7: Both the White House and the State Department have once again praised the Pakistan army for doing a tremendous job in fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda supporters in tribal area.
The Pakistani troops are doing a tremendous job to go after Al Qaeda members, and they continue to pursue them. They are pursuing them all along that border region, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
They are relentless and they are committed and they are making a difference, said State Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli while talking about the Pakistani troops fighting the terror suspects in Waziristan.
The two reactions, displayed on the websites of the White House and the State Department on Tuesday, come two days after a successful visit to the United States by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
After a White House meeting, Mr Bush not only praised his Pakistani counterpart as a world leader but also pledged to continue to work 'very closely' with him for the next four years, dispelling the impression that Washington is pushing for a democratic change in Pakistan.
On the day Gen Musharraf arrived in Washington, several US newspapers had criticized Pakistan for ordering a reported withdrawal of troops from Waziristan. But even before Pakistan could comment on these reports, President Bush rejected them as incorrect.
"Quite the contrary. The (Pakistan) army has been incredibly active and very brave in southern Waziristan, flushing out an enemy that had thought they had found safe haven, said Mr Bush when asked if the Pakistan Army has downgraded the search for Al Qaeda suspects in the tribal area. And as expected, both the White House and the State Department expressed similar sentiments when asked to comment on the situation in Waziristan after President Musharraf's departure.
I think that we have high praise and great appreciation and respect and admiration for what the Pakistani forces are doing in the areas, in their territory, to take the fight to the terrorists in Waziristan and in the other parts of the country where terrorists are active, said Mr Ereli. They have lost many of their own men.
Mr McClellan said President Musharraf and President Bush did discuss the importance of going after Al Qaeda planners and plotters in the Afghan-Pakistan border region at their meeting in Washington.
Those Al Qaeda members are finding out that they cannot hide. They're being brought to justice, said Mr McClellan while talking about the operation Pakistan is conducting in Waziristan.
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