Context
Gen. David Petraeus on Wednesday acknowledged there was no choice but to improve troubled ties with Pakistan. Speaking to reporters in Paris ahead of his new role as CIA director, he said that Islamabad wanted to root out Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters but was struggling. Petraeus also said that Pakistan’s anti-militant campaigns have been effective but warned that more needs to be done to deal with other groups like the Taliban in Balochistan and Al-Qaeda in North Waziristan. He admitted that the US-Pakistan relations are in a “difficult stage”, blaming Wikileaks disclosures, CIA contractor Raymond Davis’s arrest as well as the US raid that killed Bin Laden in May. Meanwhile, US lawmakers continue the debate on curbing aid to Pakistan if it does not resume cooperation.
