Context
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday urged Pakistan to take “decisive action” against militants based on its soil. Clinton and US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Mike Mullen held meetings with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Army Chief Gen Ashfaque Pervez Kiyani and ISI Chief Lt. Gen. Shuja Pasha during an unannounced visit to Islamabad. Tensions between Pakistan and America are high after the US raid that killed Bin Laden on May 2nd. The US officials assured Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership of America’s support in an attempt to fix strained ties.
Media reports also indicate US has a given a list of 5 most wanted terrorists to Pakistan and has asked to provide intelligence on these individuals as they are believed to be hiding in the country.
The list includes the names of Ayman al Zawahiri, Siraj Haqqani of the Haqqani network, head of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and suspected al-Qaida leader Ilyas Kashmiri, and al-Qaida operations chief Atiya Abdel Rahman.
US is threatening an Osama style unilateral operation against these individuals if Pakistan fails to act. On the other hand, Pakistan is attempting to convince US on the benefit of joint operation against any high value target. Meanwhile Pakistan has warned if there are any more unilateral raids, Pakistan would review its relations with the US and would disallow the use of NATO supply line for Afghanistan. Pakistan has already reduced the number of US forces in the country from 200 to 300 and has closed three intelligence fusion centers.
