US finds fault with Pakistan's deal with pro Taliban leaders

Washington, Feb 28 (UNI) Pakistani government strategy of signing peace deals with pro-Taleban tribal leaders along the Afghan border has backfired, Director of National Intelligence John McConnell said.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Mr McConnell said President Pervez Musharraf was trying to balance US security concerns with political ones.

''The president of Pakistan believed that he could be more effective by signing this peace agreement,'' Mr McConnell said.

''And in our point of view, capabilities of al-Qaida for training and so on increased. And so (came) the vice-president's visit, and others' visits, to make the case that we have to be more aggressive in going after al-Qaida in Pakistan. The balancing act, of course, is the president's standing in that country with an election coming up this fall,'' he said.

On Monday, Vice-President Dick Cheney visited Islamabad to meet President Musharraf. According to media reports, he delivered a tough message asking the Pakistani leader to be more aggressive in rooting out the terrorist sanctuaries.

McConnell said President Musharraf was caught between his desire to cooperate with US anti-terrorist efforts and domestic political concerns.

''We believe they could do more. And the issue of being elected for the next term is the issue in my view that the president of Pakistan is wrestling with.'' Pakistan is to hold parliamentary and presidential elections later this year and the country's Islamist parties are opposed to Musharraf's cooperation with US anti-terrorist efforts.

UNI