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GovernancePakistan's strategic depth policy has failed: Clinton
By Pajhwok Report Jun 23, 2014 - 11:54 KABUL (Pajhwok): Now that its policy of pursuing "strategic depth in Afghanistan" has failed, Pakistan needs come hard on the insurgents operating on its soil, a former US secretary of state has said.
Hillary Clinton said in an interview: “Their idea that they have these groups to provide strategic depth vis-a-vis Afghanistan or India, I think if that were ever true, which I doubt, but if that were ever true, it no longer is.”
Speaking to NDTV channel, Clinton said Islamabad had snap its links to various terrorist groups, shut down their training camps take action against the religious schools that were encouraging suicide bombing and extremist tendencies.
The Asif Ali Zardari government was not aware of the ties between elements within the military and the ISI and various extremist groups, she believed, saying such connections were not in the interest of Pakistan.
The ex-secretary remarked: “It’s like keeping poisonous snakes in your backyard expecting they will only bite your neighbour and what we are seeing now is the continuing threat to the state of Pakistan by these very same elements.”
Clinton explained the insurgents had penetrated many parts of Pakistan, attacking targets in major cities. She referred to a recent attack on the airport in Karachi -- the country's commercial capital.
PAN Monitor/mud
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