US says Pak tribal regions are safe havens of Al-Qaeda and Taliban

Islamabad, May 1 (ANI): The Taliban and al-Qaeda have shifted their base from Afghanistan to the mountainous tribal region of Pakistan and have successfully turned the region into their safe havens post 9/11, a top US official has said.

Talking to reporters at the State Department, the acting US Coordinator of Counter-terrorism, Ronald Schlicher, said the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan are proving a perfect base for Al-Qaeda.

"Since September 11th, Al-Qaeda and its allies have moved across the border to the remote areas of the Pakistani frontier, and they're using, of course, that mountainous terrain as a safe haven, where they can hide, where they can train," The Nation quoted Schlicher as saying.

Schlicher said the difficult terrains and limited writ of the government in the region only adds to the advantages that the extremists enjoy.

He added that militants find it easy to communicate with their followers in the region where they can plot attacks, and make plans to send fighters to support the war against the allied forces in Afghanistan. (ANI)