US General calls for review of relationship with Pakistan

The top US commander in Afghanistan said on Thursday that there was a need for a "holistic review" of the relationship with Pakistan, adding that it was supporting the Taliban and undermining the Afghan government. "Our complex relationship with Pakistan is best assessed through a holistic review," Army General John Nicholson, who leads US and international forces in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan said Thursday that the coalition had a shortfall of a "few thousands" of troops in the country. General John Nicholson was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the force training and advising Afghan troops in the fight against the Taliban. Nato now has about 13,300 troops in the country, about half of them from the United States.
Nicholson said he had raised the shortfall with his superiors in the military, including with Defence Secretary James Mattis, and that the issue will also be on the agenda at a meeting of Nato defence ministers next week in Brussels, he said. US-led Nato troops stopped leading patrols and stepped into an advisory and support role at the end of 2014.