Even though more than half of the country is seen as a safe haven for terrorists and Al Qaeda's core here, a top American official on said that Islamabad is the front-line counter-terror partner for the US.
“Pakistan, we must all remember, is a front-line counter-terrorism partner. More Al Qaeda operatives have been killed or captured in Pakistan than anywhere else,” Daniel Benjamin, co-coordinator, office of counter-terrorism in the State Department said.
He said that every strata of Pakistani society, be it politicians, citizens or soldiers, had been targeted by the terrorists. “We respect the sacrifices that Pakistan has made in combating terrorists and in its resolve to combat those who undermine the stability of the country and seek to block its progress.
“We provide a spectrum of assistance to Pakistani counter-terrorism campaigns, which range from police training to anti-money-laundering efforts,” he said after the releasing of the annual State Department country reports on terrorism for 2009.
“Pakistani military operations in Swat and Waziristan have eliminated militant strongholds and damaged the operational abilities of extremist groups. Moreover, we are seeing increasing cross-border cooperation with Afghanistan and ISAF forces, which is instrumental for reducing key militant safe havens," Mr Benjamin said.
He claimed that public opinion has turned “more decisively” against the militants since the Pakistani forces have started operations against terrorists in the Swat valley.
Mr Benjamin said in late March, with the beginning of the strategic dialogue with Pakistan, “we started a new phase in our partnership”.
“In the initial meeting of the strategic dialogue with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the US secretary of state underscored the commitment of the US to stand with Pakistan as it confronts its challenges and, along with foreign minister Qureshi, she reaffirmed our support for the people and the government of Afghanistan."