Pakistan realizes threat posed by Taliban : General Petraeus

Lahore, May 28 (ANI): The US Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said that Pakistan has now realized the existential threat posed by the Taliban.

In an interview to a foreign radio channel, General Petraeus said : "The four major elements of Pakistani society, the government, the opposition, the military and the civilians, realise that Pakistan must oppose and confront the Taliban, who pose a threat to the Pakistani state."

He said there has been a major shift of opinion among the people of the country towards the Taliban, as they now realize that the outlawed outfit only fosters oppression.

Commenting on the 'war on terror' in Afghanistan, the CENTCOM chief admitted that security forces must do more to ensure minimum loss of life of innocent civilians during the US led military operations.

He, however added that the troops must be given certain freedom to counter the extremists.

"We shouldn't have our soldiers go into a fight with one arm tied behind their back," The Daily Times quoted General Petraeus, as saying. (ANI)