Pakistan warns US on Afghan troop surge

Pakistan warns US on Afghan troop surge
By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: November 26 2009 17:49 | Last updated: November 26 2009 17:49
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/583311fe-da9f-11de-933d-00144feabdc0.html


Pakistan’s prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani warned on Thursday that a US military surge in Afghanistan could further destabilise his country and urged the Obama administration to consult before making any decision on troop numbers.

Barack Obama is expected to increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan by 30,000-35,000 when he presents his Afghan strategy in a primetime address on Tuesday.

But Mr Gilani voiced concerns that are widespread among Pakistani officials when he said that a US troop surge on the Afghan side of the border might force Taliban militants to cross over in to neighbouring Pakistan.

”Sending more troops to Afghanistan, there’s fear that the influx of militants may be towards Baluchistan,” Mr Gilani told a news conference in Islamabad.

“We should be consulted, with our intelligence and defence related officials, so that we can formulate our strategy accordingly,” he said.

One western diplomat said Barack Obama faced “very difficult” challenge reconciling Pakistani concerns with calls from within the US military establishment to send more troops.

“On the one hand, Pakistan is Afghanistan’s big neighbour, with a large army and an alliance with the US and Nato. But it also has a history which makes many people feel very uncomfortable,” the diplomat said.

Mr Gilani’s warning comes amid continuing security concerns over the south-western province of Baluchistan, which borders south Afghanistan where the international forces’ war with the Taliban is most intense. The region has been ravaged by an armed nationalist insurgency for years.

Taliban attacks in Pakistan

Interactive graphic charting recent attacks by Taliban militants from Peshawar to Rawalpindi

Pakistan this year began an offensive against Taliban safe havens, first in the country’s northern Swat valley and more recently in the south Waziristan region near the Afghan border.

However, western officials have for years suspected the Pakistani intelligence services of having built close ties to Islamic militant groups.

One senior Pakistani intelligence official, speaking to the Financial Times ahead of Mr Gilani’s comments, said he was concerned about US sending more troops to Afghanistan “in a haphazard manner without consulting us and with no co-ordination”.

The official warned that increasing the number of US troops might only succeed in uniting the Taliban in Afghanistan, causing more volunteers to join its ranks and, ultimately, fuelling the Taliban movement in Pakistan.

“The consequences of this [troop surge] are hard to predict exactly. You can not tell for certain that more US troops in Afghanistan at this time will essentially have a stabilising effect,” he said.