ISI has contacts with extremists: Gates

WASHINGTON: The ISI’s contacts with the Hekmatyar, Haqqani and the Nazir groups are a real concern for the United States, says US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates.In a recent interview to an Afghan television channel, Mr Gates also expressed concern over Pakistan’s agreement with the militants in Swat saying that such deals only allow the militants to reassemble and revive their strength.‘The ISI's contacts with some of these extremist groups —with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Haqqani network, Commander Nazir (sp) and others —are a real concern to us,’ said Mr Gates.‘We have made these concerns known directly to the Pakistanis. And we hope that they will take action to put an end to it.’‘Are US drones flying from Afghanistan to hit militant hideouts in the Pakistani territory?’ he was asked.‘I can't talk about our military operations, obviously. But the president (Obama) has made clear that we will go after al Qaeda and their planning cells and their training centres, wherever they are in the world.’The journalist reminded him that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had assured Pakistan he respects the country’s sovereignty. ‘So if the drones hitting targets inside Pakistan fly from Afghanistan, will not be disrespect to the sovereignty of another country?’ the journalist asked. ‘Well, all I can say, again, is that our priority is going after al Qaeda. And we will go after them wherever they are,’ Mr Gates replied.Talking about US concerns over the Swat peace deal, Secretary Gates said that similar agreements in 2005 and 2006 led to an increase in the number of violent extremists coming across the border into Afghanistan. The militants, he said, no longer had to worry about Pakistani troops because of the deals that were made under President Musharraf.Mr Gates said he believed the Pakistani government was coming to understand that the militancy in the NWFP was as great a danger to the government in Islamabad as it’s to Afghanistan.The Pakistani army, he said, was now fighting the militants and thousands of Pakistani soldiers had died while combating these extremists.‘One of our goals in this new strategy is to see how we can improve cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, who have a common interest in getting rid of these extremists.’Asked what the US could do to persuade Pakistan to adopt a more effective policy against the militants, Mr Gates said Pakistan was a sovereign country, and so the US could only encourage it to fight the militants as a partner in this war.‘What we are doing is making clear to them that we are prepared to be a long-term ally and partner of Pakistan; that we will help them deal with their security problems.’The United States, he said, was prepared to provide gear and training to enhance Pakistan’s counterinsurgency capabilities.
‘We're also prepared to try and provide additional economic assistance to Pakistan because they face a number of challenges in that area as well.’