December 24, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 25, 1429

WASHINGTON, Dec 23: The United States places much emphasis on its ties with the Pakistani military for ending tensions between India and Pakistan and for winning the war against terror, says the top military official.

Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he had “a good, positive meeting” with Pakistani military leaders in Islamabad on Monday that “continues … the relationship” between the two militaries.

“I’m not going to get into specifics of what we discussed, but I am encouraged,” he said.

Admiral Mullen met Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani and Director General ISI Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha in Islamabad and told reporters travelling with him that he made it a point to meet his Pakistani counterpart whenever possible.

“Just about any time I am in the [area of operations], I’ll stop by to see him,” Mr Mullen said during an interview on Tuesday on the flight back home. Monday’s meeting marked Admiral Mullen’s seventh visit to Pakistan since he took office in October, 2007.

“Military-to-military contacts can help lessen tensions among the countries of the region and put in place a structure for working out problems,” he added.

A Pentagon press report, which included details of this interview, quoted Admiral Mullen as saying that the small team of extremists that attacked Mumbai represented a tactical operation that had strategic effects.

The attacks, he said, jeopardised efforts by Indian and Pakistani leaders to lessen tensions between South Asia’s two nuclear powers.

The Pentagon report quoted US officials as saying that the near-term danger was that the Mumbai attacks could lead to a war between India and Pakistan.

“A second-order effect is that the dispute may cause Pakistan to concentrate on its border with Kashmir and lessen its commitment to solving the problem of safe havens in the west,” the report added.

The long-term answer, Admiral Mullen told reporters, was a regional strategy that included Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and other Central Asian nations. The nations must improve relations among one another so attacks like the one in Mumbai did not escalate closer to conflict, he said.

The Pentagon report noted that after meeting top military and intelligence officials in Islamabad, Admiral Mullen also emphasised the importance of US-Pakistan relations in the fight against terrorism.

“The relationship between the United States and Pakistan is critical,” he said. Pakistan borders Afghanistan and Taliban extremists have been using safe havens in remote areas of the country.