An influential US lawmaker on Wednesday expressed concern over a wide variety of reporting that suggests that the Taliban continue to plan and stage attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan from bases within Pakistan.
Senator Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican, and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also said that Kashmiri militant groups designated foreign terrorist organizations [by the US State Department] and are seemingly linked to Al Qaeda also plan and stage attacks from within Pakistan.
He noted that while President Pervez Musharraf has acknowledged that these groups pose a threat to Pakistan, he has been unable to shut down their operations.
Asked what the State Department was doing about these issues, Assistant Secretary of State for the South Asian and Central Affairs Bureau designate Richard Boucher told Lugar that the US was playing a helpful role in supporting Musharraf's efforts and that there was military coordination between the US and Pakistani forces on the border to combat these attacks by the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
He said the US has also made clear to Musharraf that Pakistan has to completely shut down terrorist camps within its territories and halt permanently infiltrations across the Line of Control in Kashmir into India of these extremist elements, and pledged that the US will keep the pressure on Islamabad on this score.
