WASHINGTON, Jan 9: So far the US-led forces in Afghanistan have no plan for crossing into Pakistan to target Al Qaeda or Taliban hideouts, says a senior US military commander.

Brig-Gen Joseph Votel, the deputy commanding general for operations for the Combined Joint Task Force in Afghanistan, acknowledged that terrorist activities along the Pak-Afghan border had decreased recently, but said that the enemy also had learned to better coordinate its actions in that region.

“Right now we do not plan or really have any vision for operations with our forces into the Fata or into Pakistan,” Brig-Gen Votel told a teleconference at the Pentagon. “That’s a sovereign country; that’s their responsibility to deal with.”

As a senior commander in the field, Gen Votel has direct access to day-to-day military operations in Afghanistan but his statement contradicts those of other officials in Washington who are often quoted in the US media as saying that the United States will send troops into Pakistan if it has “actionable intelligence” about the presence of Al Qaeda or Taliban militants inside the country.

It also has become a major issue in the 2008 presidential race. At least half a dozen key contenders for the 2008 presidential race have said that if elected they would not hesitate to send troops into Pakistan to conduct anti-terrorism operations.

Brig-Gen Votel, however, painted a totally different picture of joint military operations along the Pak-Afghan border. “I would assess our relationship, both from a US standpoint and from an ISAF-Nato standpoint here in our portion of Afghanistan with the Pakistan military and with the Frontier Corps, to be very, very good,” he said.

ISAF is the International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan of US allies who have contributed troops for military operations, although with some restrictions.

“We have good liaison back and forth between our headquarters here and headquarters in Pakistan at a variety of different levels,” Brig-Gen Votel said.

“What we try to do is work with the Pakistan military to ensure that our positions are mutually supporting...”