Washington, Oct 2 : Pakistan's counter-terrorism measures have failed to yield results this year with insurgent activities gaining ground and operational situation facing the military there continuing to deteriorate, US President Barack Obama has informed the Congress.
“The return of militant-inspired violence after a 4-month lull following the 2010 floods demonstrated how insurgent elements have managed to survive and even return to many areas previously cleared by the Pakistan military,” a White House report sent by Obama to the Congress said. In fact, the report informs the Congress that Pakistan has moved from “remaining static” to “decline” to “negative trends” in one of the key indicators and metrics of “Pakistan's efforts in counter-terrorism operations” as developed by the Obama administration at the direction of the Congress.
The 25-page unclassified section of the Af-Pak report was submitted by Obama to the Congress on Friday which gives details of the progress made in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the war against terrorism from January to August this year. A copy of the report was obtained by the Press Trust of India. Informing the Congress on the progress on fourth metric -- ‘Develop Pakistan's counter-insurgency (COIN) capabilities; continue to support Pakistan's efforts to defeat terrorist and insurgent groups', the White House report said indicators and metrics against this objective remained static during the reporting period of January 1 to March 31.
This objective declined during April 1 and June 30, while between July 1 and August 31 it was marked by continued negative trends.
“Years of progress in cross-border coordination and collaboration faced increased challenges, while the drawdown of US military elements in Pakistan continued the trend of a decreased US ability to contribute to Pakistan's COIN (counter-insurgency) and CT (counter-terrorism) efforts. “Pakistan military operations continued in the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), but insurgent activity and high-profile strikes against security and government forces contributed to a decline in the security situation,” the report said.
According to the White House report, despite efforts to develop more robust communication and coordination mechanisms to de-conflict cross-border incidents, the period saw an increase in incidents along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border as well as an overall decrease in coordination and collaboration.
“Insurgent activity along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border continues to pose a challenge to stabilisation efforts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attacks occurred along the border of both the northern and southern FATA agencies, with a number of large-scale attacks resulting in high casualty rates for Pakistan's security forces in the north,” it said.
“High-level ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) and Pakistan military engagement to de-escalate tensions along the border resulted in a decrease in shelling incidents in the south, but many of the core challenges remained unresolved along the entire FATA border, with continued potential for future escalation,” the report said. PTI
