Taliban top leadership in Quetta, Pak must strike before it's too late: US

Islamabad, Oct.15 (ANI): The United States has reiterated that the Taliban's top leadership is currently hiding in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, and that it was very important to dismantle it from there before they establish their grip over the region.

Talking to mediapersons during a press conference in Quetta, US Consul General Stephen Fakan, who is posted at the Karachi Consulate, said the Taliban's leadership council (Shura) is devising policies for the outlawed terror organization from Quetta.

"It would be unreasonable to say the Taliban do not exist in Quetta. Everybody is saying the Taliban live and operate from Quetta. The Quetta shura comprises people who devise policies for the Taliban while sitting in Quetta," The Daily Times quoted Fakan, as saying.

He said Islamabad 'should do more' to allay the international community's apprehensions regarding the presence of various banned terror groups inside Pakistan.

"There is a need to take immediate action against the Taliban before they move from FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) to Balochistan and become powerful enough to use the province as a base for more terrorist activities in the future ... We want to curb extremism wherever its is present," Fakan said.

When asked that whether the US was seriously planning to carry out strikes through unmanned aircrafts (drones) in Quetta, Fakan said he is not authorized to speak on the subject. (ANI)