Downplaying the WikiLeaks revelations about links between Pakistan’s spy agency and terrorist groups, the US has said there are no blank cheques for Islamabad and it must do more to eliminate terrorist safe havens.
“We have known about safe havens in Pakistan; we have been concerned about civilian casualties for quite some time — and on both of those aspects we’ve taken steps to make improvements,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Monday.
When the new US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Petraeus “testified in front of the Senate there was a fairly robust discussion about the historical relationships that have been had between the Taliban and Pakistan’s intelligence services,” he said. Asked if the US had no doubts about Pakistan’s trustworthiness or reliability in view of the leaks, Gibbs said: “No, no, look, I think US President Barack Obama was clear back in March 2009 that there was no blank cheque for Pakistan, that Pakistan had to
change the way it dealt with us, it had to make progress on safe havens.” “It’s in the interest of the Pakistanis because we certainly saw last year those extremists that enjoy the safe haven there turning their eye on innocent Pakistanis,” he said. “That’s why you’ve seen Pakistan make progress in moving against extremists in Swat and in South Waziristan.” “But at the same time, even as they make progress, we understand that the status quo is not acceptable and that we have to continue moving this relationship in the right direction,” Gibbs said.