Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday that he wanted 'more clarity' from the Americans on President Barack Obama's new war strategy in Afghanistan. "Let's examine it and then we will talk on this issue," he said. He said the US leadership took Pakistan on board on the new Afghan policy and in this connection Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would soon meet with his British counterpart to discuss the issue.
AFP adds: "We are studying that new policy. We need more clarity on it," he said after talks in London with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, referring to Obama's pledge of 30,000 more US troops for Afghanistan. The premier added that General Stanley McChrystal, US and Nato military commander in Afghanistan, would be going to Pakistan to discuss "more military co-operation."
"After, when we get more clarity on the situation, then we will see how, if we can implement on that plan," he told reporters in a joint press conference with Brown. "I personally feel the military action is not the solution for problems. Therefore we must have an exit policy," Gilani added. "Military action is only 10 percent. The 90 percent is that you have to strengthen, you have to complement with the political decisions, the social, cultural input in those areas."