Pak envoy says Islamabad wants more support from war-on-terror partners
23 Aug 2008, 1426 Hrs

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Washington, Aug 23 (ANI): Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has said that his country expected more cooperation from the other war-on-terror stakeholders on its western border (read Afghanistan) in the post-Musharraf phase.

He also rejected the presence of any foreign troops in Pakistan fighting militants.

"The war-against-terror has to be pursued through a co-operative effort between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the US. Unfortunately there was no chemistry between General (r) Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, which did not facilitate co-operation between the two countries. I think we will see a more co-operative phase [after Musharraf]," the Daily Times quoted the ambassador as saying in an interview with an American radio.

Further elaborating 'more cooperation', he said it meant intelligence sharing, making sure NATO and Afghan forces take care of the Afghan side of the border and no cross-border movement of terrorists. "I do not think induction of NATO or American troops on the Pakistani side is even something that anybody seriously considers," he said.

The ambassador reiterated Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism, and urged the world to support Islamabad in the war on terror, which, in his words, was "Pakistan's priority". (ANI)