Pressure on Pak to reign in Haqqani network following proof provided by US

Washington, Jun.17 (ANI): A top US military official has said that Washington has presented evidence to Pakistan to prove that the Haqqani network, a faction of the Taliban operating from North Waziristan, was behind the recent brazen terror attacks in Afghanistan.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General David Petraeus, who oversees America led 'war on terror' in Afghanistan, told a Senate hearing that Pakistan has been asked to reign in the Haqqani network targeting foreign troops in the war tattered country.

General Petraeus said that the issue was also raised during his recent meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

"We have shared information with him about links of the leadership of the Haqqani network located in North Waziristan that clearly commanded and controlled the operation against Bagram air base and the attack in Kabul, among others," The Dawn quoted Petraeus, as saying.

According to a report in the New York Times, the Haqqani network has aligned with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to carry out terror attacks in Afghanistan.

The report also claimed that militant outfits like LeT, Al-Qaeda and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have increased their cooperation with each other and with the Haqqanis over the past several years.

Washington has long been pressing Islamabad to take stern action against the dangerous Haqqani network, however, analysts believe that the later is hesitant to come down hard on the terror network due to strategic reasons.

Experts believe that Pakistan sees the group as a strategic asset that will work in its favour and ward off India designs in case of any peace settlement in Afghanistan. (ANI)