Twirp : Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Republic Pakistan 3

[Naresh]

<b>US generals turn their guns on ISI</b>

<b>WASHINGTON, March 28 : Three top US generals and a key envoy have accused the ISI of helping Al Qaeda and Taliban extremists while one of them said that this issue was also raised during the Pakistan Army chief’s recent visit to Washington.

The claims, made hours after President Barak Obama announced his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday, indicates a major change in US attitude towards the intelligence agency.</b>

“During Gen Ashfaq Kayani’s visit to Washington, Admiral Mike Mullen spoke with him at length, I did as well, and others,” US National Security Adviser Gen James Jones told Dawn when asked if they had evidence of ISI’s involvement.Gen Kayani visited Washington last month for talks on ties between the defence establishments of the two countries and on Pakistan’s role in the war on terror.

“There are at least some questions that have to be resolved. If that’s the case, we need to come to resolution with it. I think it is in Pakistan’s interest to be very clear on the issue,” Gen Jones said while talking about his talks with Gen Kayani.

“So if there is room for improvement, we should together work for that improvement, so that we can have common goals and common pursuits.”

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, joined their national security adviser in urging the ISI to end its contacts with the militants.

Admiral Mullen and Gen Petraeus also met Gen Kayani during his US trip and discussed ISI’s alleged involvement with the Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists.

In their interviews to the media after President Obama’s speech, the two US military officers sought Pakistan’s cooperation in the fight against the militants.

Admiral Mullen claimed that the ISI had links to militants on both its western border with Afghanistan and its eastern border with India.

<b>“Fundamentally, the strategic approach with the ISI must change and their support ... for militants, actually on both borders, has to fundamentally shift,” he told CNN television’s “Situation Room” programme.

Asked if there were still elements within the ISI who sympathized with or supported Al Qaeda and the Taliban, Admiral Mullen said: “There are certainly indications that that’s the case.”

In another interview, Gen Petraeus said some of the militant groups had been established by the ISI and that their links continued.

He said there was evidence that “in the fairly recent past” the ISI had tipped off militants when their positions were in danger.</b>

“There are some cases that are indisputable in which that appears to have taken place,” he added.

“It’s a topic that is of enormous importance, because if there are links and if those continue and if it undermines the operations [against militants], obviously that would be very damaging to the kind of trust that we need to build,” said Gen Petraeus in a PBS television interview.

Links between the Taliban and ISI “are very strong and some unquestionably remain to this day,” Gen Petraeus said. “It is much more difficult to say at what level.”

Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to the region who plans to visit Pakistan again next week for follow up talks on the new strategy, said of all issues, investigating the ISI was “the most important.”

<b>“The issue’s very disturbing,”</b> Mr Holbrooke told PBS when asked if the ISI was assisting Al Qaeda and Taliban extremists.

“We cannot succeed if the two intelligence agencies (the CIA and ISI) are at each others’ throat or don’t trust each other and if the kind of collusion you referred to is factual,” Mr Holbrooke said.

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