US-trained Pak commandos to be deployed in FATA

Washington, Aug.4 : Bowing to mounting pressure from the Bush Administration, the Pakistan Government has reportedly agreed to deploy a Pakistani Special Service Group (SSG) unit, trained by Americans, in the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan.

The Daily Times quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying that the deployment would meet Washington's longstanding demand for immediate action in the Tribal Areas, while at the same time ensure the sanctity of Pakistan's sovereignty.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that the Pakistani commando division, trained by the United States, is an elite special operations force similar to the U.S. Army's Special Forces, or Green Berets.

"The Americans are telling us that they need action now," the paper quoted a senior Pakistani official who attended meetings between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Bush in Washington last week, as saying.

Islamabad has also proposed allowing the U.S. to deploy more sophisticated equipment in the FATA in a joint effort to track and kill insurgents.

The Pakistan Army has told the Pentagon that it is planning to move a major unit of its regular army into the Tribal Areas and senior Pakistani officials have proposed a plan in which the intelligence services of both countries would work to end the conflict between the spies and informants that each uses in the Tribal Areas and who have often been working against each other.

US officials have been accusing Pakistan of not doing enough to block the cross-border movement of militants, while Pakistan has criticised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for cultivating assets that Islamabad believes is not in its interests.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, has confirmed that various proposals were discussed during last week's meetings, but said he could not talk about them.

ANI