They are also reported to have said that Pakistan would take care of its problems while it was the job of the US to take care of its problems in Afghanistan.
According to a New York Times report on Friday, this new stance by the close ally has prompted “a new level of frustration from Americans who see the infiltration as a crucial strategic priority in the war in Afghanistan”.
A US State Department official when asked by Dawn to comment on the Times report said: “We all understand cross-border activities hurt both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Any solution must be enforceable, comprehensive and promote sustainable development throughout the region.”
The newspaper revealed that in an unusual step during a visit to Pakistan in March, Adm Eric T. Olson, the commander of United States Special Operations Command, held a round-table discussion with a group of Pakistani civilian leaders to sound them out on the possibility of cross-border raids by American forces. He was told in no uncertain terms that from the Pakistani point of view it was a bad idea, said one of the participants.
Instead, the Times says, Pakistani officials are trying to restore calm to their country, which was rattled by a record number of suicide attacks last year.
“Within days, they are expected to strike a peace accord with Pakistan’s own militants that makes no mention of stopping the infiltrations. In fact, Pakistani counter-insurgency operations have stopped during the new government’s negotiations with the militants.
On Wednesday night, the United States fired its fourth Predator missile strike since January, the most visible symbol of the American push for a freer hand to pursue militants from Al Qaeda and the Taliban who use Pakistan’s tribal areas as a base to attack Afghanistan and plot terrorist attacks abroad.
In Afghanistan, cross-border attacks have doubled over the same month last year and present an increasingly lethal challenge to American and Nato efforts to wind down the war and deny the Taliban and Al Qaeda a sanctuary.
“Pakistan will take care of its own problems, you take care of Afghanistan on your side,” Owais Ghani, the Governor of North-West Frontier Province reportedly told the newspaper.
The Times noted that Mr Ghani, a key architect of the pending peace accord, believed along with many other Pakistani leaders that the United States was floundering in the war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan, he said, should not be saddled with America’s mistakes, especially if a solution involved breaching Pakistan’s sovereignty, a delicate matter in a nation where sentiments against the Bush administration ran high.“Pakistan is a sovereign state,” he said. “Nato is in Afghanistan; it’s time they did some soldiering.”
The pending accord, Pakistani officials said, was aimed at stopping suicide attacks in Pakistan, which became a focus of the militants’ wrath last year as the Pakistani government pursued a more assertive policy against them at the urging of the United States.
American officials in Washington said the Predator strike on Wednesday killed a handful of Al Qaeda militants, including one they described as a “significant leader”. The strike indicated that the CIA retained some freedom to operate in the tribal areas. But as the gap between Pakistani and American policies widens, United States officials are pushing harder for still more latitude.