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US Gen. Petraeus praises Pakistan in first visit since taking over in Afghanistan

12 July 2010 21:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. U.S. Gen. David Petraeus lauded Pakistan’s efforts at battling Islamist militants Monday during his first visit here since taking over as top NATO commander in Afghanistan this month, APA reports quoting â€œFox Newsâ€.
But he avoided public mention of the complicated tug of war between the two countries over the presence in Pakistan’s border regions of militants launching attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistan is embroiled in military operations against Pakistani Taliban fighters in its volatile northwest. One of Petraeus’s main challenges as NATO commander will be to try to persuade Pakistan to also turn its sights toward Afghan Taliban based in the Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal areas.
Pakistan has been wracked by a series of deadly attacks in the past two weeks that have killed nearly 150 people. Violence is also rising in Afghanistan. June was the deadliest month for international forces there since the start of the war nearly nine years ago.
"Recent events demonstrate both the common threat posed to Pakistan and Afghanistan by insurgents and the efforts that the Pakistan military are making to counter this threat," Petraeus said in a statement after meeting with Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
"I look forward to continuing to work with General Kayani to identify areas of mutual interest and to cooperate in efforts that can help improve regional security," he said.
Petraeus was previously serving as the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and visited Pakistan several times in that capacity. He took over in Afghanistan after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was forced to resign over comments he and his aides made to Rolling Stone magazine critical of the Obama administration.
Pakistan has so far resisted U.S. pressure to act against Afghan Taliban. Analysts say Pakistan’s military believes the Taliban could be useful allies in Afghanistan once international forces withdraw. Pakistan helped the militant group seize power in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Pakistan claims its forces are already stretched thin battling the Pakistani Taliban who have declared war on the Pakistani state.
A roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying paramilitary troops in northwestern tribal area of Orakzai on Monday, killing one soldier and wounding four others, said Jehanzeb Khan, a local administrator.
The Pakistani military declared victory in Orakzai in June after pounding Taliban militants in the area for months with airstrikes and artillery. But militant attacks and military operations in the area have continued.