Tuesday, April 6, 2004
US gives ultimatum to Pakistan to destroy Taliban
Agence France-Presse Washington, April 6
US-led forces in Afghanistan will move into Pakistani territory to destroy Taliban and other extremist groups if Islamabad is unable to do so, the top US envoy in Afghanistan has warned the Pakistan Government on Monday.
The move comes at a time when Pakistan had tried to destroy Taliban sanctuaries along the Afghan border. The move though was hailed as "positive and hopeful," the failure of the troops to capture Osama has evoked such a response.
Unless Pakistan roots out Taliban sanctuaries, it will be difficult to fully eliminate security problems in the south and east of Afghanistan, Khalilzad told a forum organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"We have told the Pakistani leadership that either they must solve this problem or we will have to do it for ourselves," he said. "We prefer that Pakistan takes responsibility, and the Pakistani government agrees."
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.