US for speedy North Waziristan action

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen Thursday said the US wants Pakistan to take speedy action against Qaeda and Taliban elements holed up in North Waziristan tribal region. Noting that Pakistani security forces had conducted nine major operations in the past two years in areas like Swat and South Waziristan Agency, Mullen said the militants in North Waziristan continue to pose the biggest threat. Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is aware of the threat posed by militants in North Waziristan. He has pledged to launch an operation against them at a time chosen by Pakistan though the US wants action to be taken speedily, Mullen said. Would we like to see it happen more quickly? Absolutely, Mullen told reporters at the Foreign Press Center here. He said the enemy in Afghanistan is losing. Mullen said they still arent sure how many troops can leave this summer and from what areas they would be pulled. Mullen said there would be plenty of forces left come July and he expects violence to rise as US and Afghan forces continue to confront Taliban strongholds. But, he added, local towns are beginning to reject Taliban fighters and that surprising progress is being seen in tough areas like southern Kandahar province. I have every confidence that (the enemy) will continue to lose, so long as coalition and Afghan forces increase their presence and their pressure on his operations and improve their own capacity, he said When asked whether he was painting too rosy a picture of the war, Mullen said that wasnt his intention. Im encouraged, but I do not want to understate in any way, shape or form the difficulty of the task, he said. It clearly continues to be severe. Mullen said: Its not just Haqqani any more, or Al Qaeda, or the Afghan Taliban or Lashkar-e-Taiba, its all of them working together, in ways that two years ago they absolutely did not. He said: It is absolutely critical that the safe havens in Pakistan get shut down. We cannot succeed in Afghanistan without that. I believe it has to be all done in a way that its sustained over time. Pakistans reservations will be considered in resolving the Afghan imbroglio, Mullen said, adding that the US is also committed to long-term relations with both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kayani and the US leadership both believe that a stable Afghanistan could resolve many problems, he said. On Pak-India relations, Mullen said better relations between the two South Asian countries would ensure security in the region.

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