Afghan Analyst Says USA Getting Tough With Pakistan

Excerpt from report by Afghan independent Tolo TV, on 12 June

[Presenter] The USA has backed an air strike on Mohmand Agency and said that the strike was carried out in response to shots fired at coalition forces by insurgents. US aircraft launched an air strike on Mohmand Agency yesterday, killing 13 Pakistani soldiers and angering the Pakistani government.

[Passage omitted: known details about the attack, the US stance and the Pakistani government's reaction]

[Correspondent] A number of [Afghan] experts have pointed to a change in America’s stance towards Pakistan. They believe that the next American president will have a new stance towards Pakistan.

[Harun Mir, an analyst] Actually, America’s recent operation inside Pakistan is a warning to Pakistanis. It took place following an agreement signed between the Pakistani government and its local Taleban. In addition, America’s stance is changing towards Pakistan.

[Fazlollah Mojaddedi, MP for Logar Province] The Taleban’s attack on our border forces at the Pakistani border automatically indicate that the Taleban have very close relations with the Pakistani military and security officials, in particular with their intelligence service. They attacked the Afghan border forces from a very close range. This shows that they have links and cooperate with each other.

[Passage omitted: Pakistani tribal areas a safe haven for insurgents]

[Presenter] Meanwhile, there have been reports that troops stationed in Afghanistan launched another air strike on Pakistan’s Angor Dara area today, without causing casualties.

Originally published by Tolo TV, Kabul, in Dari 1330 12 Jun 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring South Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.