Pak will not take military action against Haqqani network

Islamabad, Sep 26: Pakistan will not take military action against the Haqqani network despite growing US pressure, even as the country's top military commanders have agreed on the need to de-escalate the situation, according to media reports today (Sept 26).

These decisions were made at a special meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Sunday, Sept 25.

The commanders vowed to resist US demands for an offensive against the Haqqanis in North Waziristan but also discussed possible implications of unilateral action by the US on Pakistani territory, a military official was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

The decision is "likely to chip away at the deteriorating relationship between the two countries", the report said.

"We have already conveyed to the US that Pakistan cannot go beyond what it has already done," the military official said.

However, the Dawn newspaper quoted its sources as saying that the meeting of the Corps Commanders, probably the first held on a Sunday, had agreed on the need to de-escalate the situation.

The meeting held on a holiday "reflected the seriousness of the crisis" created by a series of allegations by US officials and a source told the daily that de-escalation efforts were afoot.

"Escalation is harmful. In the cost-benefit analysis, there appears to be no benefit of a confrontation," the source said. The Dawn too reported that "there was nothing to suggest that the army had agreed to act against the Haqqani network under US pressure".

PTI