Afghan troop surge may destabilize Pakistan, says US General

The top US military officer said on May 21 he is concerned that the US troop build-up to oust insurgents from Afghanistan could further destabilise neighbouring Pakistan, according to Daily Times. However, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm Mike Mullen, speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the military planning is under way to try to avoid that. Mullen said he believes the upcoming increase of 21,000 US forces in Afghanistan “is about right” for the new strategy of trying to quell the insurgency and speed up training of Afghan Security Forces. Mullen urged the US lawmakers to support military and economic assistance programmes for Pakistan in a manner that helps build trust with the South Asian nation and advance US goals to get rid of Al Qaeda threat in the region.

Why Karzai saying in Kabul one thing & doing in US anther thing?

President Karzai Before his visit to the United state said that he will talk with the US officials about the civilian causalities, but when he arrived in US and US forces did new Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan, he couldn’t say anything about it seem that he is under pressure and just ha said thanks for Secretary Clinton for showing concern and regrets for the civilian casualties
Below is a short brief of the secretary Clinton Speech and President Karzai Full Speech in the State Department:

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning, and welcome to the State Department. ..
It is a great privilege to welcome President Karzai and President Zardari. I have known President Zardari for a longer period of time, going back many years now…
And I have known President Karzai now for about seven years.
PRESIDENT KARZAI: Seven years.
SECRETARY CLINTON: I would now like to introduce President Karzai to deliver brief remarks. He will be followed by President Zardari to also deliver remarks. President Karzai.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Thank you very much, Madame Secretary. It's a pleasure for us, and I can speak on behalf of both Afghanistan and Pakistan at this point, to thank you and the President for giving us this unique opportunity of the presence here in the United States to discuss the issues of terrorism and of combating terrorism, and stability and peace, both in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and by consequence in the region and beyond. This initiative, I'm certain, through the implementation of the strategy outlined earlier by President Obama, will bring us the needed relief towards a better, more peaceful life in both of our countries
Madame Secretary, thank you very much for showing concern and regrets for the civilian casualties that are caused, especially for the one that was caused yesterday. We appreciate that, and we hope we can work together towards reducing and eventually completely removing the possibilities of civilian casualties as we move ahead in our war against terrorism or in our struggle against terrorism.
Madame Secretary, Afghanistan would like to assure the United States, its most valued strategic ally, and Pakistan, its neighbor, brother, friend. What I described yesterday is exactly true. Pakistan and Afghanistan are conjoined twins. Our suffering is shared, our joys are always shared. The life that we live is affected by the opportunities that we have and the lack of opportunities that occurs because of the circumstances in which we live today.
Madame Secretary, I will be very brief in my remarks. At this point, I would suffice that at occasions like today, Afghanistan will use, to the best of its possibility and ability, to deliver to the effectiveness of what we are doing together for stability and to do the right thing with regard to relations with Pakistan in bringing more confidence, more trust, and a working environment in which the two countries together can wage a more effective struggle against the menace of terrorism and the violence that radicalism causes both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan and the danger that they pose to you in America and the rest of the world.
I would request our brothers and sisters in Pakistan to count on us in the best possible manner that Afghanistan will go along in order to eventually provide a life of peace and prosperity to both countries. Now as we move ahead, there will be areas of practical work and cooperation. In that too, Afghanistan will contribute.
Madame Secretary, do have full confidence in us, as the two countries sit together, that we'll be friends with you and colleagues with you. And the journey that we have together will take us where we intend to be. And the right environment, as it is created today, I hope we'll continue to insist upon and have kept. Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.

Stop wearing shirts and trousers or face suicide bombing

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has allegedly warned doctors of the public sector hospitals in Peshawar, the NWFP capital, to stop wearing shirts and trousers or face suicide bombing. A senior doctor at the Lady Reading Hospital told the media they had received a letter from the TTP, asking doctors and all other medical staff to immediately stop wearing shirts and trousers or suicide bombers would target them at their institutions. Two other senior doctors at the Hayatabad Medical Complex and the Khyber Teaching Hospital also confirmed receiving similar threats from the TTP. They said chief utives of all the three hospitals directed their staff members, particularly doctors, to stop wearing shirts and trousers so that they could be saved from suicide bombers. The NWFP Secretary for Health, Dr Sohail Altaf, confirmed the threatening letters that were received by the hospital utives from unknown people. He said he too had received a copy of the letter, adding that he did not believe the Taliban would have sent the letter.

Next two weeks critical to Pakistani Government’s survival, says CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus

Commander of the US Central Command, General David Petraeus, has told American officials that the next two weeks are critical to determining whether the Pakistani Government will survive, FOX News reported on April 30, “The Pakistanis have run out of excuses” and are “finally getting serious” about combating the threat from Taliban and al Qaeda extremists operating out of northwest Pakistan, the general added. But Petraeus also said that “we’ve heard it all before” from the Pakistanis and he is looking to see concrete action by the Government to destroy the Taliban in the next two weeks before determining the United States’ next course of action.