Pakistan failed to tackle militancy on its side: NATO commander

Kabul, May 30 : General Dan K. McNeill, the US commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, has raised concerns that Pakistan had not followed through on promises to tackle militancy on its side of the border, and in recent months had even stopped its cooperation with NATO on border issues.

General McNeill said Pakistan's failure to act against militants in its tribal areas and its decision to hold talks with the militants without putting pressure on them had led to an increase in insurgent attacks against US and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan.

"We have not seen the actions that we had expected late last year; we have seen a different approach," he told reporters on Thursday.

"That is different from what most of us thought last year we were going to get," the New York Times quoted him, as saying.

"Over time, when there has been dialogue, or peace deals, the incidents have gone up," General McNeill said.

"What you see right now is the effects of no pressure on the extremists and insurgents on the other side of the border," he added.

General McNeill said that Pakistan had stopped the high-level meetings among Pakistani, Afghan and NATO counterparts that were the main conduit for resolving border issues and coordinating operations to combat cross-border infiltration.

The meetings are usually attended by top generals on all sides, but Pakistan has postponed the last three, he said.

ANI