With its safe havens inside Pakistan,
the Haqqani network poses a threat to
NATO forces in Afghanistan, a top
NATO official has said.
The Haqqani Network constitutes a
threat both to the Afghan people and
to our troops in Afghanistan, NATO
Secretary General, Fogh Rasmussen
told reporters in Brussles ahead of the
NATO ministerial meeting later this
week.
He said NATO was encouraging the
Pakistani government and the
Pakistani military to deal with safe
havens in the border region.
Mr. Rasmussen said that there was a
cross border traffic that makes
possible for the Haqqani Network, and
also other terrorist networks, to
operate in Afghanistan.
This constituting a clear threat to
NATO troops and to the Afghan
people. And then go back to safe
havens in Pakistan, he said in
response to a question.
Expressing concerns he said it was
common concerns and NATO needs a
positive engagement of Pakistan to
address this issue. In general, we
need a positive partnership with
Pakistan.
The Defence Ministers meeting of
NATO countries later this week among
other things would discuss Libya and
******, he said. U.S. Defence
Secretary Leon Panetta would also
participate in the meeting.
Mr. Rasmussen said that they would
also meet with their ISAF partners to
discuss progress in Afghanistan,
because there has been significant
progress since our last meeting.
Transition is fully on track, and we
will not allow insurgents to derail it.
Already Afghan forces are providing
lead security for a quarter of the
population. I expect the next stage of
transition to be announced soon, and I
expect it to be substantial. And at the
same time, our military authorities
assess that the insurgency has been
weakened overall, he said according
to the transcripts made available here.
the Haqqani network poses a threat to
NATO forces in Afghanistan, a top
NATO official has said.
The Haqqani Network constitutes a
threat both to the Afghan people and
to our troops in Afghanistan, NATO
Secretary General, Fogh Rasmussen
told reporters in Brussles ahead of the
NATO ministerial meeting later this
week.
He said NATO was encouraging the
Pakistani government and the
Pakistani military to deal with safe
havens in the border region.
Mr. Rasmussen said that there was a
cross border traffic that makes
possible for the Haqqani Network, and
also other terrorist networks, to
operate in Afghanistan.
This constituting a clear threat to
NATO troops and to the Afghan
people. And then go back to safe
havens in Pakistan, he said in
response to a question.
Expressing concerns he said it was
common concerns and NATO needs a
positive engagement of Pakistan to
address this issue. In general, we
need a positive partnership with
Pakistan.
The Defence Ministers meeting of
NATO countries later this week among
other things would discuss Libya and
******, he said. U.S. Defence
Secretary Leon Panetta would also
participate in the meeting.
Mr. Rasmussen said that they would
also meet with their ISAF partners to
discuss progress in Afghanistan,
because there has been significant
progress since our last meeting.
Transition is fully on track, and we
will not allow insurgents to derail it.
Already Afghan forces are providing
lead security for a quarter of the
population. I expect the next stage of
transition to be announced soon, and I
expect it to be substantial. And at the
same time, our military authorities
assess that the insurgency has been
weakened overall, he said according
to the transcripts made available here.