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WASHINGTON: The United States has again suggested that links between the Taliban and ISI are "historical links" and Pakistan has now made a "strategic shift" and attacking their safe havens inside its territory.
"It is very, very important to understand that there have been historical links going back a couple of decades," State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley told reporters Friday reiterating WikiLeaks did not reveal any new information about "Pakistani interest in and association with elements that have played a role in Afghanistan."
But "we believe that Pakistan has made a strategic shift," he said. "They are now aggressively attacking these elements inside their borders that have safe havens inside of Pakistan's territory that not only threaten Afghanistan, the United States, but also Pakistan."
However, "the links between Pakistani agencies and these elements have been known and understood for quite some time," Crowley said suggesting "The real question is: What is Pakistan doing now?"
The US is "satisfied with the action, the aggressive action that Pakistan has taken. But we want to see Pakistan continue on the offensive. We've made that clear since these documents came out," he said referring to the whistleblower organisation's publication of over 90,000 secret US military documents.
Asked why the US was continuing to give billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan when there was no accountability, Crowley said: "We are investing in Pakistan because it's in the United States' interest to do so. We have a presence in Afghanistan because it is our interest to do so." -Online
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