US: Pakistan Must Strike Back At Terrorists

A no brainer really. But actions speak louder than words and by Pakistan's actions I'm pretty sure who's side they're on. AFP

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFP) — Pakistan should strike back at "terrorism" or it will see more attacks like the one that killed ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, US Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff said Monday.

Extremists in Pakistan are a threat to that country as well as Afghanistan, he said when asked about Islamabad's peace talks with pro-Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels which have raised concern in NATO and Kabul.

And it was important for the Pakistan government to see that "it ensures control and strikes back against terrorism," he told reporters at the US military base at Bagram 6O kilometres (37 miles) north of Kabul.

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"Otherwise they're going to see more of the kind of tragedies that they saw when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated or some of the bombings we've seen in the last several months in Pakistan and here in Afghanistan as well," he said.

Bhutto was killed in a December 27 attack that President Pervez Musharraf blamed on Al-Qaeda-linked warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who said Saturday "jihad" would continue in Afghanistan despite peace talks under way with Islamabad.

He denied any involvement in Bhutto's assassination.

NATO, which has 50,000 troops in Afghanistan, and Kabul have meanwhile urged Islamabad to take them into account when making deals with militants saying decreases in attacks in Pakistan correlated to rises in Afghanistan.