American and Pakistani forces have launched a coordinated offensive against the Haqqani Network, the feared Taliban faction which recently attacked the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan's army chief said on Wednesday
His confirmation came hours after Pakistan's military chief General Kayani ruled out a full scale offensive against the group and issued a stern warning to the United States against any incursion into Pakistan territory.
In a speech to members of the Pakistan National Assembly Defence Committee, General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani reminded Washington that Pakistan is a nuclear power, not another Afghanistan or Iraq, and that the United States should think "ten times" before launching a unilateral operation against the Haqqanis on Pakistani soil.
Analysts close to the Pakistan army leadership however said his comments were for "domestic consumption" and to cover Islamabad's submission to growing American demands to take action against the militant group.
General Sher Mohammad Karimi said Operation Knife Edge will target Haqqani Network fighters using the lawless border area of North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan to launch cross-border raids into Afghanistan. The militant group, which has strong ties to al-Qaeda, has also become powerful in Khost and Paktika provinces which border North Waziristan in eastern Afghanistan. |