WASHINGTON: Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani met US
chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (JCSC), Admiral Mike Mullen,
here in Spain.
Pentagon spokesman informed that during the
2-hour meeting held in the sidelines of NATO conference in Spain, at
late Friday night, military leadership of both countries stressed on
enhanced military relations.
Both also expressed their deep
satisfaction at the fact that steps had been taken to maintain good,
conducive relations between two countries, during past few months,
while both military leaders also mulled over military cooperation, and
steps to enhance it further.
This level of meeting was the
first ever held since the American commando incursion of Abbottabad in
which Osama-Bin-Laden was reportedly killed by American SEAL forces,
without any prior information /permission of Pakistani authorities.
It
is pertinent to note that due to these strained relations, Pakistan had
to suffer cutouts in U$. 2.7 billion worth of military US aid. Pakistan
had retaliated by Cutting down the number of military personnel (many
of them trainers) on its soil.
Both military leaders had met at
the most critical juncture, amid American Defense secretary Leon
Paneta’s recent most interview in which he had expressed
dissatisfaction at Pakistani action against extremist elements.
Expressing
solidarity with the reservations of his Defense secretary, Mike Mullen
had also expressed his concerns over active role of Haqqani network and
had reiterated America’s demands that Pakistan Army should also take
full strong military action against Haqqani network, especially its
safer havens based in Northern Wazirstan.
America holds Haqqani
network as being responsible for the recent bombing attack on its
American embassy and NATO HQs of Kabul during this month.; alleging
that the responsible elements had full support of discrete Pakistani
official sympathizers.
US ambassador, Cameron Munter had also
accused Haqqani network involvement in Kabul attack, and had stressed
that the group should be eliminated to stop further such actions. Online
