New York/Islamabad:
Pakistan says it has not asked its Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to cut short her visit to the United States after escalation of rhetoric with America over the latter's scathing criticism of the ISI's role in terror. But with reports that the US is considering military intervention in Waziristan, Islamabad has put its air force on red alert.
As the country's top leaders and officials huddle to discuss the security situation and its Army Chief heads to Britain, Pakistan has made clear that Ms Rabbani Khar will return only after she has spoken at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday as scheduled.
Pakistan is livid at America saying that its powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has trained the Haqqani network, the deadliest terrror group in Afghanistan and one that is said to have carried out several recent attacks on US targets in Kabul, including the attack on the US embassy on September 13. The Haqqani network has also targeted Indian interests in Afghanistan for years - it was responsible for the deadly bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul in 2008. (Read; Who are the Haqqanis?)
Sources have told NDTV that tense back-channel negotiations are on between Islamabad and Washington to defuse the latest crisis. The US has conveyed to the Pakistan government that it will take unilateral action against the Haqqani network, sources said.
Ms Khar, who is representing Pakistan at the UN meet in place of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, has indulged in some plainspeak on the issue. On Friday she warned that the US risked losing its partnership with Pakistan if it continued criticising Islamabad. Today, she said was quoted as saying that the Haqqani group was the CIA's "blue-eyed boy" for many years. She echoed Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik's words yesterday, when he said: "The Haqqani network was trained and produced by the CIA," he said, pointing out that the group did not originate in Pakistan. Yes, he said, Pakistan had Pakistan had helped the CIA during the war against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, but "the US should not now speak about things which happened 20 years ago." (Read: CIA created the Haqqani network, says Pak interior minister)
The charges and counter-charges began last week with US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen accusing the ISI of helping the Haqqani network. An angry Pakistan immediately rejected the allegation, with Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani saying it was not "based on facts". Gen. Kayani is reportedly visiting Britain amid the growing US outrage over the ISI's alleged links to the Haqqanis. Gen Kayani is expected to meet privately with the U.K.'s Defense Minister Liam Fox today.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Gilani has called for a meeting of the National Security Council on October 3. He has also convened an all-party meeting to mobilise a united stand to counter America's allegations. President Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other senior leaders across party lines are expected to attend the meeting. Mr Gilani had cancelled his US visit ostensibly to oversee relief operations in flood-hit areas, but was reported to have been miffed that US President Barack Obama refused to meet him on the sidelines of the UN meet. He sent his Foreign Minister instead and there were reports on Sunday that he had asked Mr Rabbani Khar to cut short her visit. Pakistan denied this.
Also on October 3, President Zardari has summoned a national assembly session to discuss the security situation. On Sunday, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired a six-hour special meeting of his Corps Commanders to review the security situation.
There was no official word on what transpired during the meeting but Geo News channel reported that the army commanders rejected the US accusations. They decided to give a "fitting response" to any cross-border attacks by militants based in Afghanistan, the channel reported. The army commanders reportedly agreed that General Kayani would meet President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani to take the political leadership into confidence.
To the US, Pakistan's second highest ranking military officer expressed "concern about the negative statements." General Khalid Shameem Wynne, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, at a meeting on Sunday with visiting US Central Command chief General James Mattis, called for "addressing the irritants" in the Pakistan-US relationship which are "a result of an extremely complex situation", a military statement said. (Read: Pak military voices concern over US allegations)
(With Agencies inputs)
As the country's top leaders and officials huddle to discuss the security situation and its Army Chief heads to Britain, Pakistan has made clear that Ms Rabbani Khar will return only after she has spoken at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday as scheduled.
Pakistan is livid at America saying that its powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has trained the Haqqani network, the deadliest terrror group in Afghanistan and one that is said to have carried out several recent attacks on US targets in Kabul, including the attack on the US embassy on September 13. The Haqqani network has also targeted Indian interests in Afghanistan for years - it was responsible for the deadly bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul in 2008. (Read; Who are the Haqqanis?)
Sources have told NDTV that tense back-channel negotiations are on between Islamabad and Washington to defuse the latest crisis. The US has conveyed to the Pakistan government that it will take unilateral action against the Haqqani network, sources said.
Ms Khar, who is representing Pakistan at the UN meet in place of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, has indulged in some plainspeak on the issue. On Friday she warned that the US risked losing its partnership with Pakistan if it continued criticising Islamabad. Today, she said was quoted as saying that the Haqqani group was the CIA's "blue-eyed boy" for many years. She echoed Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik's words yesterday, when he said: "The Haqqani network was trained and produced by the CIA," he said, pointing out that the group did not originate in Pakistan. Yes, he said, Pakistan had Pakistan had helped the CIA during the war against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, but "the US should not now speak about things which happened 20 years ago." (Read: CIA created the Haqqani network, says Pak interior minister)
The charges and counter-charges began last week with US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen accusing the ISI of helping the Haqqani network. An angry Pakistan immediately rejected the allegation, with Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani saying it was not "based on facts". Gen. Kayani is reportedly visiting Britain amid the growing US outrage over the ISI's alleged links to the Haqqanis. Gen Kayani is expected to meet privately with the U.K.'s Defense Minister Liam Fox today.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Gilani has called for a meeting of the National Security Council on October 3. He has also convened an all-party meeting to mobilise a united stand to counter America's allegations. President Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other senior leaders across party lines are expected to attend the meeting. Mr Gilani had cancelled his US visit ostensibly to oversee relief operations in flood-hit areas, but was reported to have been miffed that US President Barack Obama refused to meet him on the sidelines of the UN meet. He sent his Foreign Minister instead and there were reports on Sunday that he had asked Mr Rabbani Khar to cut short her visit. Pakistan denied this.
Also on October 3, President Zardari has summoned a national assembly session to discuss the security situation. On Sunday, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired a six-hour special meeting of his Corps Commanders to review the security situation.
There was no official word on what transpired during the meeting but Geo News channel reported that the army commanders rejected the US accusations. They decided to give a "fitting response" to any cross-border attacks by militants based in Afghanistan, the channel reported. The army commanders reportedly agreed that General Kayani would meet President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani to take the political leadership into confidence.
To the US, Pakistan's second highest ranking military officer expressed "concern about the negative statements." General Khalid Shameem Wynne, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, at a meeting on Sunday with visiting US Central Command chief General James Mattis, called for "addressing the irritants" in the Pakistan-US relationship which are "a result of an extremely complex situation", a military statement said. (Read: Pak military voices concern over US allegations)
(With Agencies inputs)
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