US rules out any military operation inside Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews has said that US military will not conduct any military operation inside Pakistan, adding that there is no plan for US forces in Afghanistan to cross the international border.

“To be clear, US military authorities are within the borders of Afghanistan only. We have no authority to go into Pakistan.” a spokesperson for the Department of Defense told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Pentagon spokesman told the media; “Say, for example, we have troops in contact and then the Taliban forces go across the border. They are clearly inside Pakistan then. There's no change with regards to respecting the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan.”

Respecting the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan, Mike Andrews reiterated they would not be going into Pakistan -there could be exceptions to that. It was not going to be normal day-to-day operational rules of engagement that US commanders on the ground knew, the spokesperson added.

He said that the focus of the Afghan forces this year would be to get back the provinces that the Taliban claimed or contested, adding there was enough work to be done inside Afghanistan to reduce their influence and to provide more security and stability to Afghans.

He further said that the US expected Pakistan to take steps to ensure there were no sanctuaries where Taliban or other terrorist organisations could reside and where they felt, he said. “That's something that Pakistan is going to have to do.”

Andrews said the focus of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ trip to Afghanistan last week was to review progress on the South Asia Policy and see the preparedness of the Afghan security forces for the upcoming fighting season.