America is running out of patience with Pakistan over its failure to dismantle the safe havens that allow militants to attack US and Nato soldiers in Afghanistan, Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, has said.
Both the Taleban leadership and senior commanders belonging to the feared Haqqani network, which is blamed for some of the deadliest attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan in the ten-year war, are believed to reside in Pakistan.
“It is an increasing concern that the safe haven exists and that there are those — likely Haqqanis — who are making use of that to attack our forces,” Mr Panetta said, speaking in the Afghan capital today on the first day of his trip to review the status of the Afghan war and the impending drawdown of Nato forces from the country.
“We are reaching the limits of our patience here, and for that reason it is extremely important that Pakistan takes action to prevent this kind of safe haven from taking place and allowing terrorists to use their country as a safety net in order to conduct their attacks on our forces,” he said.
The Haqqani network, which retains ties to both the Taleban and al-Qaeda, is accused of launching a brazen 18-hour assault on Kabul in April and of kidnapping the only known American soldier still in insurgent captivity.
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In the past senior American officials have accused the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI, of providing funding and weapons to the Haqqani network. Pakistan strongly rejects the accusations.
Mr Panetta said today that America had made it “clear time and time again” during talks with Pakistani officials that Pakistan’s security forces must crack down on the Haqqanis and on insurgent redoubts on its soil.