WASHINGTON – Pakistan army chief asked to crack down on Haqqani network and warned of evidence that his country was involved in attacks on Americans. The general smokes his cigarette, keeps cool.
The US intends to keep between 10,000 to 15,000 counter-terrorism troops in Afghanistan, much beyond its troops drawdown in 2014, which could cross over into Pakistan in case of crisis, a top Obama aide had warned Pakistan Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
A top Obama aide conveyed this to the Pakistan Army Chief at a secret meeting in Abu Dhabi last October in a bid to spur Pakistan to take strong action against the Haqqani network, a book has claimed.
But the threat didn’t appear to have made the desired impact, according to the book ‘Confront and Conceal’ by the New York Times journalist David Sanger which hit the stands on Tuesday.
The book depicts President Barack Obama’s crisis moments soon after taking over the mantle from George Bush.
Kayani refused to give any guarantee of taking action against Haqqani network, as being demanded by the Obama Administration.
The details of a meeting between a three-member presidential delegation led by the National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon, and Kayani at a secret location in Abu Dhabi have been made public for the first time.
Donilon was accompanied by Mark Grossman, the Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Douglas Lute, Obama’s top adviser on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Donilon had sent ahead a document laying out the long-term American strategy, including a plan to keep somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 American counterterrorism troops in Afghanistan, mostly at Bagram Airfield, a large base just outside Kabul, to protect the interests of the US in the region.”
“His meaning was clear: the United States would remain, and its troops would be ready to go over the Pakistani border if they needed to,” Sanger writes in his book.
The three Americans told Kayani they had incriminating evidence about the latest two bold attacks against Americans in Afghanistan, the journalist wrote, but noted that even this did not have any impact on Kayani.
