Don’t capture or kill but push militants to us, US asks Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Pakistan need not kill or capture militants such as members of the Haqqani network that use its territory to launch attacks in Afghanistan but could push them across the border instead, a senior US official said on Friday.

Evicting the militants would put them at risk of attack from Afghan and US forces trying to keep Afghanistan from becoming a launching pad for strikes on the West more than 16 years after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

The United States is pressuring Pakistan to cease providing sanctuary - which it denies giving - to Islamist militants unleashing chaos in neighbouring Afghanistan. On Jan 4, Washington said it would suspend some security aid to Islamabad to get it to end support for the Afghan Taliban and allied Haqqani network whose attacks in Afghanistan have killed US, Afghan and other forces.