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Asserting that improved Indo-Pak relationship is key to success of the US war against terror in the Af-Pak region, top American military commander Admiral Mike Mullen has said the Obama administration should encourage back channel talks between the two countries on Kashmir, India. “As part of our long-term regional approach, we should welcome all steps these important nations (India and Pakistan) take to regenerate their “back channel” process on Kashmir,” Admiral Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a prepared testimony before the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee.

Admiral Mullen, who made a joint appearance with defence secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday, told senators that the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan is the epicenter of global terrorism. “This is where al-Qaeda plans terrorist attacks on the US and our partners - and from where the Taliban leadership targets coalition troops in Afghanistan,” he said. The ongoing military operations against extremists in these area are critical to preventing Al Qaeda and other groups from gaining ground , Admiral Mullen noted.

“In Pakistan, the extremist threat, a fractious political system, economic weakness and long-standing tensions with India continue to threaten stability,” Mullen said, adding the Obama Administration is working to rebuild its relationship with Pakistan and trust lost between the two countries. Pakistan’s conviction that militant groups are strategically useful to counter India are not only hampering the fight against terrorism but also helping Al Qaeda sustain its safe haven, a US intelligence community said. “Islamabad’s strategic approach risks helping Al Qaeda sustain its safe haven because some groups supported by Pakistan provide assistance to Al Qaeda,” Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said.

Islamabad’s conviction that militant groups are an important part of its strategic arsenal to counter India’s military and economic advantages will continue to limit Pakistan’s incentive to pursue an across-the board effort against extremism,” he said. Thus “despite robust military operations against extremists that challenge Pakistani authority, Afghan Taliban, Al Qaeda, and militant groups continue to use Pakistan as a safehaven for training and planning attacks against the US and our allies in Afghanistan, India, and Europe,” Blair said. Meanwhile, three US soldiers were among nine people killed on Wednesday when a Taliban suicide bomber targeted a security forces’ convoy in the restive northwestern Dir area, the first such attack that has left American troops dead in Pakistan.

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