Pak seeking to hasten military wish list delivery from US using action against terror prop

Washington, Jun.17 (ANI): Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani has blamed the delay in getting the military equipment from Washington for his country's limited success against extremists in the ongoing offensive.

Haqqani said Pakistan desperately needs advanced weapons and other sophisticated military hardware to hasten the operation against extremists.

"Military operations would have been quicker and much easier to plan and execute if we had the equipment. We have had tremendous attrition and a lot of loss of lives because of not having the right equipment," The News quoted Haqqani, as saying.

"I have been ambassador here for two years, and all I have to show for it is eight second hand Mi-17 transport helicopters for a war that requires helicopters to root out Al Qaeda and the Taliban," he added.

Pakistan has presented a whopping 2.5 billion dollars military wish list to the White House which includes advanced helicopter gunships, AH-1W and the Apache-64-D, armed helicopters such as the AH-6 and MD-530 Little Bird besides the much wanted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Meanwhile, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that the Obama administration is aware about Islamabad's wish list, adding that it would continue to help it in every possible way.

"The Pakistani military's interest in additional lift is well-known, and we have tried to help meet their needs by providing several Mi-17s. We will continue to try to help them acquire the helicopters and other equipment they require to defeat the insurgents and terrorists in their midst," Morrell said. (ANI)