Swat truce: US to adopt a policy of wait and watch

The United States will adopt a policy of "wait and watch" on the peace agreement signed between the Taliban militants and Islamabad in Pakistan's Swat valley, Obama Administration's top military and defence leaders have said.

The United States will adopt a policy of "wait and watch" on the peace agreement signed between the Taliban militants and Islamabad in Pakistan's Swat valley, Obama Administration's top military and defence leaders have said.

HT Image

Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen during a Pentagon briefing yesterday said they had an intensive meeting with the visiting Pak Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani.

"There's been a lot of discussion and, obviously, stories about the Swat agreement," Mullen said referring to his meetings with Kayani.

"So where I am on this is to wait; you know, to watch it clearly, pay attention to it, and to see where it evolves. This is a sovereign country that gets to make decisions like this. But I don't believe everything I read, and I don't understand everything I need to understand about what's going on in Swat or in that part of Pakistan. So it encourages me to dig a little deeper and watch it closely," he said.

"The one thing that actually it has been characterised as a peace agreement. That's not necessarily accurately stated from the Pakistani perspective. One of the things that I take away from this is a continued need to try to understand each other, listen to each other and understand each other," Mullen said.