US special forces may conduct operations inside Pakistan, will meet harsh response from Islamabad: US Experts
Shares
ISLAMABAD: US State Department has reiterated its “clear expectations” from Islamabad amid warning from experts that Washington may opt for a risky special forces’ operation against ‘militant targets’ inside Pakistan.
“While Pakistan is an important partner for achieving US priorities in the region, this administration has also set clear expectations for Pakistan to take a decisive action against terrorist and militant groups that operate from Pakistani soil,” a State Department spokesperson said.
During an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday, US Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration had "put Pakistan on notice".
The Foreign Office in Islamabad reacted strongly to the statement saying: “Allies do not put each other on notice."
State Department spokesperson said the US was seeking an eventual peace settlement in Afghanistan.
The US will partner with Afghanistan to promote security and stability in the region and to increase pressure on the ISIS and the Taliban through enhanced military resources and authorities, the spokesperson said.
“We will help set diplomatic conditions for a genuine peace settlement that finally ends the war,” the spokesperson added.
While the US-Pakistan tensions are high, a top US expert has hinted at the possibility of a Special Forces’ operation inside Pakistan similar to the one in which Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was reportedly killed in 2011.
“While risky, the possibility of America conducting a special forces’ operation or two in Pakistan to nab big-fish terrorist targets can’t be ruled out,” says Michael Kugelman who is Senior Associate for South Asia at the US think tank Woodrow Wilson Centre.
In his article for an Indian publication, Kugelman however added that such an operation would likely require intelligence assistance from Pakistan that Islamabad would not provide.
He also acknowledged that any such US action would risk Pakistani retaliation which includes shutting down Nato supply lines and suspending intelligence cooperation which could undercut American interest.
