Pentagon not contemplating attack inside Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The US Department of Defense has refuted any hint of military action inside Pakistan saying that on the contrary it seeks cooperation and assistance from Islamabad.

"We actually don’t contemplate military operations inside Pakistan. On the other hand, we recognise, because the strategy is inherently regional and Pakistan is geographically located at a critical nexus of a lot of different things," Joint Staff Director, Lt Gen Kenneth McKenzie said on Friday.

Pakistan is a fundamental part of the strategy, he stressed adding "through a variety of measures, we look to gain Pakistani cooperation and assistance as we pursue operations in Afghanistan." He repeated that the US was not contemplating military action inside Pakistan.

The Pentagon's chief spokesperson Dana White later acknowledged that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism, also alleging that it has supported terrorism too. She said that the country has an opportunity now, and so it could do the things the US needs it to do to confront terrorism. "So it’s an inflection point, it's an opportunity, and we hope Pakistan will take it," she said.

Replying to a question about the recent escalating bloody attacks in Afghanistan, she said that the Taliban were desperate. "They're murderous and they attack innocent civilians. As the general said, these were flashy but it shows their despair." McKenzie added that every attack that’s carried out, "many, many, many stopped, many are prevented from occurring. So to think that you are going to have exquisite timing on when an attack occurs is probably a bridge too far for the Taliban to have."

The US and Pakistan relations have been under stress recently as the Trump administration suspended security assistance to Pakistan as a result. The bone of contention has been the allegations that Islamabad provides sanctuaries to terrorist groups that attack foreign military forces in Kabul. The administration has been demanding of Pakistan to expel the Haqqani Network and the Taliban from its territories.