Pakistan must flush al-Qaeda out: Clinton

On a surprise visit to Islamabad yesterday, US Secretary of State asked the Pakistani government to take 'decisive steps' against al-qaeda elements and militants waging war in Afghanistan from ITS soil

Pakistan must flush al-Qaeda out: Clinton

Surprise visit: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses tensions
that were generated after the Osama raid with Pakistan's President
Asif Ali Zardari yesterday. Pic/AFP

"Today we discussed in even greater detail cooperation to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda and to drive them from Pakistan and the region. "We will do our part and we look to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead," Clinton told a news conference after talks with the top civil and military leadership. Pakistan must also be a part of US plans for the reconciliation process in war-torn Afghanistan, she said. The US is supporting an Afghan-led process that seeks to split the Taliban from al-Qaeda and reconcile militants who renounce violence and accept the Afghan constitution.

Safe haven
"There is momentum toward political reconciliation in Afghanistan but the insurgency continues to operate from safe havens here in Pakistan," Clinton said. Pakistan, she said, "has a responsibility to help us help Afghanistan by preventing insurgents from waging war from Pakistani territory". Shortly after flying into the Chaklala military airbase in Rawalpindi, Clinton held a one-to-one meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari that lasted 30 minutes. The two sides then held delegation-level talks. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha participated in these talks.

Clinton described the talks she and US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen held with the Pakistani leadership as "frank and constructive".u00a0 "This was an especially important visit because we have reached a turning point. Osama bin Laden is dead but al-Qaeda and its syndicate of terror remain a serious threat to us both," she said.u00a0 The US wants to defeat violent extremism and end the violence in Afghanistan while also ensuring a secure, stable, democratic and prosperous future for Pakistan, she added.

Referring to the US raid that killed the al-Qaeda chief and led to bilateral relations plunging to a new low, Clinton said "there is absolutely no evidence that anyone at the highest levels of the Pakistan government knew that bin Laden was living just miles from where we are today".

Support to Osama
However, Clinton said her Pakistani interlocutors "were very forthcoming in saying that somebody, somewhere was providing some kind of support" to bin Laden and that an investigation was now underway.u00a0 "We intend to be consulting closely as we go forward, with them providing information they are finding and us reciprocating," she said.

Search continues
A CIA forensic experts team will fly to Pakistan to search the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed and the agency will use sophisticated equipment to search for possible materials hidden inside the walls at the site.

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