"Situation in Pak 'more dire' than Afghanistan"

Lahore, Nov 19 : Noted Pakistan writer and analyst Ahmed Rashid has said that the prevailing situation in Pakistan was "far more dire" than Afghanistan in the wake of insurgency activities being carried out in tribal areas.

A comprehensive regional strategy by the international community was urgently needed to end chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said while addressing legislators during the 54th annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held on November 14-18.

"The civilian government in Pakistan needs more international support to face problems in three major areas ... There is an economic crisis - which is the result of lack of structural changes during the military rule of Perez Musharraf - a terrorist threat from militias controlling the semi-autonomous Tribal Areas near the Afghan border, and a difficult relationship between the government and the military which is refusing to move against insurgents," the Daily Times quoted Rashid as saying.

He said the civilian government in Islamabad was 'very open' to rectifying the errors of the past and convincing the Pakistani military to rein in the terrorist threat in FATA. "But, unless the decision-makers in Pakistan decide to make stabilising the Afghan government a higher priority than countering the Indian threat, the insurgency conducted from bases in Pakistan will continue," he added.

Rashid said that no multilateral framework existed to deal with the complex and entwined problems of the region, and claimed that NATO had 'no clear Pakistan policy', despite the fact that its troops in Afghanistan were suffering losses from the Pakistani Taliban. The UN Security Council 'has hardly discussed Pakistan's role in Afghanistan', he added.

ANI