September 27, 2008	Saturday	Ramazan 26, 1429

WASHINGTON, Sept 26: Pakistani military leaders had assured the Americans recently that they didn’t intend to use force against US troops along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the top US military officer said on Friday.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he received the reassurance last week during a visit to Pakistan. He said he had no reason to believe that the relationship had changed as a result of an incident along the border on Thursday that sparked a brief ground conflict with Pakistani troops.

“I’ve been given assurance by the senior military leadership in Pakistan that there is certainly no intent or plan to fire on (US) forces,” Mullen told a Pentagon news conference. He noted that Pakistan naturally reserves the right to defend itself but is committed to cooperating with the US military.

“I am hard-pressed to see a set of circumstances where there would be any kind of sustained fight between two allies,” he said, referring to the United States and Pakistan.

“I am reassured that the direction is the right direction for the Pakistani military,” he added.

Mullen also urged a cautious approach to confronting an increasingly bold extremist insurgency in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.

“Now more than ever is a time for teamwork, for calm,” he said.

Mullen said the Pakistani government realises it faces a serious insurgent problem inside its borders and is willing to cooperate with Washington on finding a solution.

“I remain convinced that Pakistan’s military leaders understand the nature of the threat and are working hard to eliminate it,” he said.

Mullen said that some of the best solutions may not be military in nature. He mentioned that Pakistan faces deep economic problems that make the insurgent threat harder to defeat.—AP