No joint operation to be launched in North Waziristan: Gen Kayani

Rejecting any outside pressure, Chief on Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday categorically denied joint-operation in the North Waziristan Agency.

Earlier, the US media reported that Pakistan was launching a joint operation in North Waziristan against militants.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) released a press statement saying the military chief clarified Pakistan’s position in response to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement of July 3, 2012 in which she said talked of coordinated actions against terrorists who threaten Pakistan and the region.

The ISPR statement said, “It is important to distinguish between coordinated action and joint operation”.

It further added, “Coordinated action implies that the Pakistan Army and ISAF conduct operation on respective sides of the Pak-Afghan Border. For such actions, intelligence sharing is the mainstay of mutual cooperation”.

The press note said, “Contrarily, a joint operation implies that the two forces are physically employed jointly on either side of the border. A joint operation in this sense is unacceptable to the people and the armed forces of Pakistan, hence, have always been our clearly stated red line”.

Reiterating its previous stance, the army chief said Islamabad might carry out operations in North Waziristan determined by political and military requirements but it would never be a result of any external pressure.

According to the statement, the country’s national interest continues to the prime consideration for any decision in this regard.

General Kayani according to the statement dispelled the reports in Western media during a meeting with Commander US Centcom General James N Mattis in Islamabad, in which both sides discussed matters of mutual interest and expressed satisfaction over the level of cooperation between the two militaries.

On Monday, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had told AP news agency that Pakistan had decided to launch a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan but the campaign was not against the Haqqani network.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Aug 17 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.