Army on June 8 sent home two-thirds of the US military personnel who were training its forces in counterinsurgency skills along the porous border with Afghanistan, reports Daily Times. An unnamed senior Army official said that 90 of an estimated 135 US trainers have left the country, the latest setback in the deeply troubled relationship between the United States and Pakistans Army following the May 2 US raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin laden. The 90 Americans had been training the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force made up mostly of tribesmen from the frontier areas. We have reassessed our requirements and sent 90 people home, said the Army official. Other Americans have also been ordered to leave Pakistan, but the official would not elaborate or provide details.
Meanwhile, Leon Panetta, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said that Islamabad must do more to go after militants within its borders who are plotting and directing attacks against troops in Afghanistan. It is vital, he said, that Pakistan live up to its end of the bargain, cooperating more fully in counter-terrorism matters and ceasing to provide sanctuary to Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups. Panetta, the current CIA director, said that after the US raid in Pakistan that killed bin Laden, Americans asked Islamabad to take a number of concrete steps to demonstrate cooperation and counter-terrorism.
Further, the US anti-terror cooperation with Pakistan is in American long-term security interest and the cooperative efforts between the two countries have yielded results, the US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. What we are trying to do in Pakistan is to build democratic institutions, to improve Pakistans security, to help it face an existential threat from terrorism. And that is where our assistance is focused, Mark Toner said at the daily briefing. Clearly, our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan has yielded results. We have talked about the fact that more terrorists have been killed on Pakistani soil over the years than anywhere else in the world and that were apprehended on Pakistani soil over the years. And that is indicative of our strong counterterrorism cooperation, Toner said, stressing the importance of anti-terror cooperation.
Meanwhile, Leon Panetta, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said that Islamabad must do more to go after militants within its borders who are plotting and directing attacks against troops in Afghanistan. It is vital, he said, that Pakistan live up to its end of the bargain, cooperating more fully in counter-terrorism matters and ceasing to provide sanctuary to Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups. Panetta, the current CIA director, said that after the US raid in Pakistan that killed bin Laden, Americans asked Islamabad to take a number of concrete steps to demonstrate cooperation and counter-terrorism.
Further, the US anti-terror cooperation with Pakistan is in American long-term security interest and the cooperative efforts between the two countries have yielded results, the US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. What we are trying to do in Pakistan is to build democratic institutions, to improve Pakistans security, to help it face an existential threat from terrorism. And that is where our assistance is focused, Mark Toner said at the daily briefing. Clearly, our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan has yielded results. We have talked about the fact that more terrorists have been killed on Pakistani soil over the years than anywhere else in the world and that were apprehended on Pakistani soil over the years. And that is indicative of our strong counterterrorism cooperation, Toner said, stressing the importance of anti-terror cooperation.
