Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network, has denied that it is involved in the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani. In an interview to the BBC broadcast on Monday, Mr Haqqani also denied that the network received support from the ISI and claimed that the USA was pressing it to join the Afghan government. The denials strengthen those made by various branches of the Pakistan government, while the disclosure about the USA illustrates what it wants in North Waziristan, where it has been pressing for a military operation, as well as how completely it determines matters for the Karzai government, down to determining which parties would be suitable allies for it. The Haqqani network gained prominence when US Joint Chiefs Committee Chairman Adm Mike Mullen sparked off the current round of tension in an increasingly troubled relationship by claiming that the network was linked to Pakistans leading spy agency, the ISI. It is noteworthy that the USA wants the Pakistan army to carry out an operation in North Waziristan, while it itself holds talks with it. Though Mr Haqqanis statements are not supported, except partially by similar ones from senior Pakistani officials, they make sense, for if the USA wants the Haqqanis to join the Afghan government, it must have a stick to accompany the carrot of government, that being the operation it desires. In this situation, Pakistani options become very limited. The question does not become one of carrying out the operation or not, but the entire alliance with the USA becomes questionable. If the USA is talking to the network to the extent of bringing it into the Afghan government, that would also make useless its objections to the Haqqani network, that it has killed American troops. The only way out for Pakistan is to break off an alliance which is also unpopular and earns the government discredit, even if it thinks the Americans keep it in power.