“They create problems for both countries,’’ the Afghan army chief of staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, told reporters at a briefing.
The United States has been trying to coax Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network.
The issue is a main cause of tension between the US-led coalition and Pakistan. Afghan and NATO officials are tiring of Pakistan’s inability or reluctance to confront the insurgent group. Pakistan’s reluctance to cooperate has prompted the United States to step up missile strikes against the Haqqani network in the group’s safe haven in North Waziristan in Pakistan.
The verbal and military fight against the Haqqani network intensified last month when Admiral Mike Mullen, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the Haqqanis a “veritable arm’’ of the Pakistani intelligence agency, and charged it directly supported the militants who had mounted the attack on the US Embassy in Kabul.
President Obama has said that he believes Pakistan is not going after insurgent groups that it feels could end up regaining power in Afghanistan after coalition forces leave.
A senior official with the US-led coalition said at a briefing yesterday that the coalition was very focused now on the Haqqani network. The group operates mainly in Khost, Paktia, and Paktika provinces, but the coalition has seen a significant uptick in Haqqani activity in Wardak and Logar provinces, which are on Kabul’s doorstep, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
Intelligence officials in Pakistan and the United States have confirmed that several top Haqqani network figures have been killed in targeted attacks in recent days.
At a briefing at the Afghan Defense Ministry, Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak also said that while Afghanistan’s current firepower is enough to deal with the insurgents, the nation needs more advanced weapons, like fighter jets, to defend against foreign threats and ensure a balance of power in the region.
