US nurturing long term ties with Pak to help counter militancy: Mullen

Washington, July 10 (ANI): The US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen has said that the United States is in the process of nurturing a long-term relationship with Pakistan to help the troubled nation counter the threat emanating from extremist organizations like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda better.

Mullen said it is very important for the US to help the security forces of both Pakistan and Afghanistan to quell terrorism more effectively.

"I think we need long-term partnerships here with both these countries, which are just starting to be renewed under, obviously, very challenging circumstances," The Daily Times quoted Mullen, as saying.

He said that the Pakistan Army has now recognized that the country faces threat from both the eastern border as well as the western border that the country shares with Afghanistan.

Admiral Mullen highlighted that Pakistan military must focus on both the two fronts, rather than paying attention to Kashmir only.

"This is a military that's got focus on two different fronts, whether it's the Kashmir area in the east, and they recognise there is a significant internal extremist threat to their country that they're now attacking and dealing with, and it's very much counterinsurgency-based," he said.

Referring to the Swat military operation, Mullen said: "They've made an awful lot of progress." (ANI)