US military boss to Pak: LeT threat is ‘growing’
America’s top military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, has demanded concerted action to contain the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant outfit, which has become “more active” and expanded operations to Afghanistan and the West. India holds the group responsible for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
“I’ve watched LeT (grow) since the end of 2008, move to the West, become more active in other countries, more active throughout the region, more engaged with other terrorist groups,” said Adm. Mullen, chairman of the United States joint chiefs of staff, who arrived on Saturday after talks with leaders and military officials in India.
In response to a pointed question, he indicated he had raised the matter with the Pakistani leadership more than once.
“I tried to make the case that the LeT is a growing threat, it is an organisation that is becoming more lethal. (This has been) proven so, and it is not just operating where it used to be. It’s expanding, it is in the West, it is in Afghanistan, it is in other countries. All of us have to be concerned.”
A report in London’s Sunday Times said top Indian Army officers had told Adm. Mullen in New Delhi of their fears that the LeT might attempt to strike during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.
Speaking here, Adm. Mullen also described Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt near Afghanistan as the “global headquarters” of Al Qaeda.
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