Pakistan 'exporting violence'

Pakistan is “exporting violence” to Afghanistan, the top US military officer said today.

Admiral Mike Mullen said this threatens not only the frayed US-Pakistani partnership against terrorism but also the prospects for a successful outcome to the decade-old war in Afghanistan.

In his final congressional testimony before retiring next week, Admiral Mullen said success in Afghanistan is threatened not only by the Pakistani government’s support for the Haqqani network and other al Qaida-aligned extremist groups but also by Afghan government corruption.

“If we continue to draw down forces apace while such public and systemic corruption is left unchecked,” Adm Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“I believe we risk leaving behind a government in which we cannot reasonably expect Afghans to have faith. At best this would lead to localised conflicts inside the country; at worst it could lead to government collapse and civil war.”

He said Pakistan’s government has chosen to “use violent extremism as an instrument of policy,” adding that “by exporting violence, they have eroded their internal security and their position in the region. They have undermined their international credibility and threatened their economic well-being”.

Testifying alongside him, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta also decried Pakistani support for the Haqqani network, and he said Pakistani authorities have been told in unequivocal terms that the US will not tolerate a continuation of the group’s cross-border attacks.

“They must take steps to prevent the safe haven that the Haqqanis are using,” Mr Panetta said. “We simply cannot allow these kinds of terrorists to be able to go into Afghanistan, attack our forces and then return to Pakistan for safe haven.”