'No results in Pak action on terror havens'

Washington: Violence in Afghanistan has reached an all time high, the Pentagon has warned, saying that efforts to marginalise Taliban capabilities including their safe havens and logistic support originating in Pakistan and Iran have not produced 'measurable results'.

"The progress in war against terror in Afghanistan has been uneven with only modest gains despite a surge of US and NATO troops," the US Defence Department said in its latest report submitted to the Congress.

"The insurgency has proven resilient with sustained logistics capacity and command and control," the report said, adopting a cautious tone in sharp contrast to more upbeat declarations from top officials and military commanders.

As the war department pointed out lack of action against al Qaeda and Taliban hideouts, a State Department official said, "We have asked the Pakistan Government to take steps in North Waziristan as we think that those are the places where they should take greater action against the sanctuaries for the Afghan insurgency," a senior State Department official told reporters after the report was placed in Congress.

The sober account of the war in progress comes just ahead of a key White House review next month, in which President Barack Obama will take fresh stock of his forces' show in the war-torn country.

The Pentagon report said that violence is at an all time high in the nine-year war, with incidents of combat up 300 per cent since July 2006.

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