US Seeing Some Positive Indicators From Pakistan On Terrorists: Want To Build Trust In Relationship: Centcom Chief

US seeing some positive indicators from Pakistan on terrorists: Want to build trust in relationship: Centcom chief

US Central Command (Centcom) chief General Joseph Votel said on Tuesday that the US military is seeing some "positive indicators" from Pakistan

Washington, (Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2018) : US Central Command (Centcom) chief General Joseph Votel said on Tuesday that the US military is seeing some "positive indicators" from Pakistan. "We are now beginning to see positive indicators," General Joe Votel, who heads the US military's Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee. "Through their communications, they re reporting to us some of the actions that they are taking on the ground.

It does not yet equal the decisive action that we would like to see them take, in terms of a strategic shift, but they are positive indicators, and it gives me hope that our approach is the right one." "That's the current posture. And I would imagine, hopefully, in the future, we'll have an opportunity to (review)," General Joseph Votel, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee when asked about the future of freeze of American security assistance to Pakistan.

"So, we remain in a posture of discontinuing that support (to Pakistan)," inquired Indiana Senator Jim Banks. Votel said the US has started to see an increase in communication, information sharing and actions on the ground in response to specific US requests. "These are positive indicators," he said, adding that "however, ongoing national counter-terrorism efforts against anti-Pakistan militants throughout the country have not yet translated into the definitive actions we require Pakistan to take against Afghan Taliban or Haqqani leaders".

"This problem is compounded by increasing cross-border terrorist attacks and fires between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which hinders both countries abilities to coordinate on border security," Votel said. In January, the United States announced that it was suspending the transfer of military equipment and security-related funds to Pakistan. He also said that Pakistan is more responsive towards US concerns on militant safe havens. Votel said cooperation with Pakistan is key to attaining success in the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, where thousands of extra US troops are due to begin training Afghan counterparts this spring.

The Centcom commander said he speaks routinely with his Pakistani counterpart. "I can't characterize the relationship as trustful at this particular point. There is a lot of history here that has to be overcome," he said. The US, Votel said, has preserved its valuable military-to-military relationship with Pakistan and attempted to increase transparency and communication with influential military leaders, while pressing its serious concerns about the country's provision of sanctuary and support to militant and terrorist groups that target the US personnel and interests.

"Achieving long-term stability in Afghanistan and defeating the insurgency will be difficult without Pakistan's support and assistance," he said. Although most security assistance for Pakistan is currently suspended, since 2002 Pakistan has been among the largest recipients of US provided Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and International Military education and Training (IMET), the general said. He said to date Pakistan has also been reimbursed hundreds of millions of Dollars in Coalition Support Funds (CSF) for counter-insurgency operations that support US security objectives in the region.

The US uses ground and air routes in Pakistan to deliver materiel to Afghanistan, he said, adding that "we also have options to utilize routes through the other Central Asian nations". Responding to a question from Senator Banks, Votel said the pressure that the Trump Administration has put on Pakistan has contributed to the recently seen positive response from Islamabad. "I think what is also working right now is the approach that we have in place with them.

I think we have tried to be very clear in terms of the things that we want Pakistan to do for us. And what I have endeavoured to do�not always in a public way, but in a private way -- is develop a relationship that allows us to provide feedback both ways," he said. There are things, frankly, that Pakistan has asked from the US as well, he said. "So this is a two-way street here. It is my responsibility to make sure that we have feedback loops in place that go back and forth between the things that were doing to try support each other and moving forward in that regard," Volte said.

He said it was important to recognise that Pakistan as a country has suffered greatly from terrorism, "perhaps as much as anybody in the region, or maybe as anybody around the world". "They have taken a number of measures to address terrorism within their borders," the general said. "That has contributed, over the years, to some increased security in the area. And we have to recognise at up front. So our approach is to continue to be engaged with them. We want to have a candid discussion. We want to have frequent communication. We want to build trust in this relationship," Votel said.