The United States stepped up pressure on Pakistan Thursday as Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said "we are reaching the limits of our patience" with a nominal ally that continues to provide a safe haven to al Qaida-linked militants. It was the latest sign that the US is now getting tougher with Pakistan after years of muting criticism and looking the other way on the premise that an uneasy friendship was better than making the nuclear-armed country an outright enemy.
As US forces draw down in neighbouring Afghanistan, the Americans appear to be pushing Pakistan harder than ever before to squeeze insurgents who find sanctuary within its borders. Panetta, in the Afghan capital, told reporters he was visiting Kabul to take stock of progress in the war and discuss plans for the troop drawdown. But he used a press conference to strike across the border instead, saying the Pakistani government needs to do more and soon to root out the al Qaida-linked Haqqani terrorist network.
Panetta repeatedly emphasised US frustration with attackers crossing the border from Pakistan. It is essential that Pakistan stop "allowing terrorists to use their country as a safety net in order to conduct their attacks on our forces," he said alongside Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.
"We have made that very clear time and time again and we will continue to do that, but as I said, we are reaching the limits of our patience," Panetta said. "There may be an increasing realisation within the US government that we have a few more years to really go after this problem and time is running out," said Jeffrey Dressler, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.
Panetta's remarks capped a week of some of the boldest language and actions by the administration against its stated ally. Just a day before, he stood in the capital of Pakistan's arch rival, India, and declared that drone strikes against terror suspects would continue, dismissing Pakistan's claims of sovereignty by noting that US sovereignty was jeopardised by terrorists as well. A senior US official acknowledged Thursday that the recent increase in drone strikes on insurgents in Pakistan targeting mostly al Qaida but other militants as well is partly a result of frustration with Islamabad. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations.
Panetta said the US continues to see Haqqani fighters moving from Pakistan into Afghanistan to attack American forces most recently on June 1 when he said they detonated a truck bomb and then tried to storm Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province.
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