Gates: Pakistani Govt Retains Ties With Taliban

Pakistan Hesitant to Endorse US Escalation

The strained ties between the US and Pakistan are becoming more frayed by the day, as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates accused the Pakistani government of secretly being in league with the various militant factions America is fighting.

The accusation will likely prove galling to the Pakistani public, which has become increasingly discontented as its government has launched more and more wars along its northern border at America’s behest, sparking a violent backlash across the country.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani likely reflected this growing resentment today when he declined to praise the Obama Administration’s Afghanistan escalation, a plan which other world leaders have embraced as a matter of course.

Gilani insisted that Pakistan needs “clarity” on the US plan before giving its endorsement. He also denied repeated US claims that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.