Pak next al Qaeda stronghold: Survey

Washington, Aug 21: Several American foreign policy experts feel that Pakistan is most likely to become the next al Qaeda stronghold.

In a joint survey carried out by the Foreign Policy magazine and the Centre for American Progress, 35 per cent of the experts opined that Pakistan has more chances than even Iraq to become the next al Qaeda base.

In a chapter titled, "A Perfect Nightmare," the respondents named Pakistan as the country where a "perfect terrorist storm" may be brewing, the Dawn reported.

Seventy-four per cent of the experts also believed that Pakistan is most likely to transfer nuclear technology to terrorists in the next three to five years.

A majority of the 108 experts interviewed between May 23 and June 26 fear that another September 11 scale attack could take place in the US within the next decade.

"These developments would not be as worrisome had the experts not also said that Pakistan is the country most likely to transfer nuclear technology to terrorists in the next three to five years. Together, it's a terrifying combination," the report warns.

Interestingly, only 22 per cent feel that Pakistan is a US ally that least serves America's national security interests. More than half of those surveyed believe the current US policy toward Islamabad is having a negative impact on national security.

Less than 33 percent favour threatening Pakistan with sanctions.

ANI>