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New US administration urged to revise policy of air strikes on Pak tribal areas

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Nov 8, IRNA
Pakistan-US-Strike
Pakistani political/defence analyst Lt Gen (Retd) Talat Masood on Saturday urged the newly elected US administration to revise its policy of air strikes on Pakistani soil, which has strained the relations of both the countries.

Talking to IRNA, he asked the US government to respect the sovereignty of Pakistan by not carrying out independent air raids in the tribal areas.

Talat Masood added that despite the problems of Pakistan , the frequency of these air strikes has been increasing putting army and civilian government in difficult situation.

Violation of the territory by American forces is totally unacceptable to Pakistani public and army, he said.

He was of the view that the US has dishonored Pakistan 's efforts on war against terror by carrying out independent air strikes.

Pakistan is passing through a dilemma nowadays as, on one hand, they want to cooperate with the United States but, on the other, the US has been grossly violating our sovereignty, Talat Masood said.

Commenting on the situation of Waziristan Agency, a tribal area, he said that Pakistan Army is focusing more on Bajaur and to some extent on Swat that is why they are not much successful in Waziristan.

He said that Pakistan army is trained to fight in conventional style and they are not quite comfortable in fighting a guerrilla war.

The analyst termed the situation in Waziristan as tense, saying the militants are very powerful there.

Yes there are hideouts of militants in Waziristan, there is no doubt about that, he said.

To a question about the failure of peace deals between Pakistani government and local Taliban in the tribal areas, he said that there were weaknesses on the part of both sides.

Talat Masood opined that the peace agreements were signed without doing homework, there was lots of mistrust on each other and the agreements were not implemented properly.

He said that Taliban are enjoying power in Waziristan, they are getting lots of financial support from the local public. Taliban are also getting funds from criminals and US haters, adds Talat.

He viewed that Talibanization is taking place because of the poor governance, lack of justice, poor economic situation and unemployment.

He added that the objective of military operation in tribal area is to establish writ of the state and encourage economic development.

Talat said that the militants need to be isolated and this is what Pakistan army is trying to achieve.

He said that situation in Waziristan would not change overnight, but the government has to be focused on implementing its fateful policies in tribal areas.

Talat Masood is a retired Lieutenant General of the Pakistan Army and a political and defense analyst.

He writes on security and political issues in national newspapers and foreign magazines and is a prominent commentator on national and international television and radio networks.

He had signed a multi million-dollar contract with UDLP as Secretary of Defense Production shortly before his retirement. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington DC.

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