Pak safe havens hamper Afghan security: Pentagon

Pakistan’s selective counterinsurgency operations, passive acceptance of insurgent safe havens and its unwillingness to interdict materials such as IEDs components undermine the security of Afghanistan, the Pentagon informed lawmakers on Tuesday.

In a congressionally-mandated report, the Pentagon told Congress that because of pervasive mistrust, longstanding tensions and divergent strategic interests continued to make genuine cooperation with Pakistan very difficult for the United States.

“Insurgent efforts — including assassinations of Afghan officials and attacks on coalition forces emanating from the safe havens in Pakistan (particularly those sheltering the Haqqani network and other Taliban affiliates), continue to threaten the emergence of a durable and stable political solution in Afghanistan,” the report said.

The Pentagon added that Pakistan continued to seek a stable Afghanistan, an Afghan government with primacy for Pashtuns and limited Indian influence. “To this end, Pakistan has allowed an insurgent sanctuary in its border to persist, offering a safe haven to Afghan Taliban and associated militant groups including the Haqqani Network in the North Waziristan Agency.

“Pakistani leaders have tolerated this due to their concerns that Pakistan will be left alone to confront an unstable, an unfriendly, or an Indian-influenced Afghanistan on its border. Accordingly, Pakistan seeks to play a key role in the peace and reconciliation process to advance a political settlement that considers Pakistani interests,” the Pentagon explained.

In its 135-page “Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan”, the Pentagon praised the progress made by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the lead they were taking against the insurgents and terrorists.

“The year 2011 saw the first-ever decline in nationwide enemy-initiated attacks in five years.These trends have continued in 2012,” it said, adding ANSF continued to develop into a force capable of assuming the lead for security responsibility throughout Afghanistan.

At the same time, the report identified the safe havens in Pakistan as the major challenge for Afghanistan. “The Taliban-led insurgency and its Al Qaeda affiliates still operate with impunity from sanctuaries in Pakistan. The insurgency’s safe haven in Pakistan as well as the limited capacity of the Afghan government remain the biggest risks to the process of turning security gains into a durable and sustainable Afghanistan.”