US blames Pakistan's accord with tribal leaders for Afghan attacks

Washington, Mar 2 (UNI) Top US defense officials hold Pakistan's agreement with frontier tribal leaders, reached last year, responsible for the current spurt in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan.

Participating in the hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman, said the United States had made its concerns clear to the Pakistani government.

''We've expressed, over a period of time, directly to President Pervez Musharraf and to others, our skeepticism and reservations about the agreement," Edelman said.

US Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Robert Gates had recently visited Pakistan in this connection.

Chief of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General Douglas Lute said "the safety provided in the Pakistani border areas is a key to the Taliban's recent resurgence, and to its plans for the future.'' ''There's no question that the sanctuary exists, and that it's a major asset for the Taliban," he added.

Committee chairman Senator Carl Levin said, "we ought to press Pakistan for at least an acknowledegment that the deal they made has not worked out. In fact, quite the opposite." The officials, however, said Pakistan's government and military have been trying to get control of the remote and rugged border region.

Republican Senator John Warner defended the Pakistani government, saying the situation would be worse for the United States and its allies if Islamists come to power in Pakistan.

UNI