US says Pak has to do more to dismantle terror safe havens operating on its soil

October 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - France has expressed concerns over Pakistan's anti-terror efforts, saying all the western countries are skeptical regarding Islamabad's actions. Chairman of the French Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces, Josselin de Rohan said the presence of Al-Qaeda's top leadership in Pakistan undermines its efforts against the terror groups based on its soil.

September 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Congress is set to take the final step to triple non-military aid to Pakistan, but with stringent conditions demanding action against extremist groups on its soil and preventing attacks on neighbouring countries, namely India. Though the bill scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives Wednesday does not mention India so as not to hurt Islamabad's sensitivities, it specifically lists extremist movements Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the outfit behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

August 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - While Pakistan has been denying the presence of terror camps on its soil, an editorial in a leading English daily of the country suggests that Islamabad and also the international community were aware about such camps operating along the Line of Control (LoC). "The entire world knew about them.

August 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The US Government must fundamentally redefine the struggle against terrorism, replacing the war on terror with a campaign combining all facets of national power to defeat the enemy, President Obama's senior counter-terrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, has said.

July 26th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that his country is not providing any terror safe havens to terror groups. Qureshi said Islamabad does not want the country's soil to be used for carrying out nefarious activities against any other nation.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW YORK - While the United States is planning a massive surge in Afghanistan, what may be seen as a final assault against Al-Qaeda, theTaliban and other extremist groups, Pakistan is not supportive of any such US move. Pakistan intelligence officials say Islamabad is apprehensive about the expanding US offensive, as it feels that it could create further problems in already troubled Balochistan.

July 14th, 2009 CAIRO - External Affairs Minister S.M Krishna has said that New Delhi would like a visible response from Islamabad, which should have commitment to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks. Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Sharm-al Shaikh here last night, Krishna said that India wants an assurance from Pakistan that acts of terrorism engineered from Pakistan soil will not be repeated.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday said that the confession by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on nurturing of terrorists in his country has justified India's stand about terrorists originating form the neighbouring country. Krishna said that India has repeatedly maintained that Pakistan's soil was being used for terrorist attacks on India.

May 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has said that disrupting, dismantling and defeating Al Qaeda and their safe havens in Pakistan, and preventing their return to Pakistan or Afghanistan is top priority on its foreign policy. Robert O. Blake, who has replaced Richard Boucher as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs, said the South and Central Asia poses the toughest challenge to the Obama administration currently.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON -Terming Pakistan as the "nerve center of al Qaeda's global operations", the US Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said that top commanders of the outfit are utilizing the terror safe havens situated in country's ungoverned tribal regions to plot terror strikes around the world. General Petraeus said that Al-Qaeda was also using the Pakistan based sanctuaries to channelize finance, recruit young men and pass orders to affiliates operating across the world.

May 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban and al-Qaeda have shifted their base from Afghanistan to the mountainous tribal region of Pakistan and have successfully turned the region into their safe havens post 9/11, a top US official has said. Talking to reporters at the State Department, the acting US Coordinator of Counter-terrorism, Ronald Schlicher, said the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan are proving a perfect base for Al-Qaeda.

April 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The United States has reiterated that there is an immediate need to dismantle the Taliban and Al-Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan for the safety of the US and the world. Addressing the Senate, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee for Middle-east and South Asia, Senator Tom Casey expressed concerns about the expanding writ of the Taliban in Pakistan.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The so called 'peace deal' between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban in the Swat Valley has brought Washington and Islamabad at loggerheads, with the United States considering that the accord would only provide an opportunity to the insurgents to build terror safe havens in Pakistan's heart. US diplomats see the peace accord of the Swat Valley, which is located just 60 miles away from Islamabad, as a threat to the region, and to the western world too.

April 21st, 2009 LAHORE - Responding to top US commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan's comments that Pakistan must do more to dismantle the terror safe havens operating on its soil, Pakistan has also asked NATO to 'do more' in Afghanistan. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told a private television channel that the Pakistan Army is 'doing enough' in the war on terror, and asked NATO forces to intensify its operations in Afghanistan.

April 18th, 2009 TOKYO - The US Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has said that the international community should ensure giving more financial aid to Pakistan, as the terrorist groups based on its soil are on the verge of carrying out attacks around the world. Addressing delegates at the donors' conference here in which countries have pledged five billion dollars for Pakistan as aid, Holbrooke said the world must keep supporting the country.