The United States on Wednesday said there are links between the Pakistani military and the Haqqani network, which is not only troubling, but also unacceptable.
However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refrained from using the term that the "Haqqani network is a veritable arm of the ISI" even though pressed repeatedly by the White House press corps at his daily news conference.
"As I've said and others have said, is that the continuing safe havens that the Haqqani Network enjoys in Pakistan and the links between the Pakistani military and the Haqqani Network are troubling, and we want action taken against them. That is a conversation we have had with the Pakistani government for a long time, not just in recent days and weeks," Carney told reporters.
"It is also true that our cooperation with Pakistan has been extremely important and that Pakistan has been very helpful to the United States in our fight against al Qaeda in particular. But they do need to take action against the Haqqani Network to deprive the network of the safe havens that it has in Pakistan," he said.
When asked to comment on the statement made by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Carney said the issue here is that what the admiral said and others have said is that the US has concerns about the safe havens and the existing links between the Pakistani government and the Haqqani Network.
{{/usCountry}}When asked to comment on the statement made by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Carney said the issue here is that what the admiral said and others have said is that the US has concerns about the safe havens and the existing links between the Pakistani government and the Haqqani Network.
{{/usCountry}}"We're in regular contact with our counterparts in Pakistan on this issue and we have urged Pakistan to take action against the Haqqani Network. We believe that that is in their self-interest as well as in our interest to do that," he said.