New Delhi: Washington's plans to curb the Taliban's influence in Pakistan by broadening air strikes is meeting road blocks. Just days after reports that the US would conduct military strikes, using CIA drones in Baluchistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has now ruled that out.
Sources say Washington is worried about rising tensions in the region due to the strikes.
Gates said that the United States was concerned about the activities of the Quetta shura in Balochistan but disagreed with the suggestion to use drones against them as well.
"I think this is principally a problem and a challenge for the Pakistanis to take on. And as we have indicated, we are prepared to do anything we can to help them do that," the secretary said at a regular briefing at the Pentagon.
Gates also vowed to catch Osama bin Laden no matter how long it takes.
Asked to comment on media reports that a group of Taliban militants known as the Quetta shura were using Balochistan as a base to conduct operations inside Afghanistan, Gates said: "We all have a concern about the Quetta shura and the activities of the Taliban in that area."
Moreover, Pakistan isn't pleased as well. It's already facing trouble for allowing the US to launch limited strikes in the tribal areas. Baluchistan is a power centre of the Taliban in Pakistan and the region is often used to launch airs trikes into Southern Afghanistan.
The United States uses drone aircraft, known as the Predators, to attack al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Fata. Besides eliminating some of the militants, the drone attacks also have killed scores of civilians, causing widespread resentment against the United States.
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