Islamabad: The United States has reiterated that top Afghan Taliban commanders, including Mullah Omar, are hiding in Quetta and creating trouble for the US led NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Deputy chief of the US mission in Pakistan, Gerald M Feierstein, said Washington has credible information that Mullah Omar is in Quetta and ‘freely moves across the border and some other major cities of Pakistan, including Karachi.’
“We are confident that Mullah Omar is in Quetta. We do believe that these people move around, but their locus of operation is Quetta,” The Daily Times quoted Feierstein, as saying.
Feierstein also pointed out that there were ‘individuals’ in Pakistan, who are sympathetic towards Taliban and support its activities.
Commenting on the Kerry-Lugar Bill, that has witnessed wide scale protests in Pakistan; he rejected the notion that the US has attached severe conditions to the USD 1.5 billion annual assistance.
“There is no condition attached to the Bill … there is nothing in the aid Bill that is against the declared policy of the government of Pakistan,” Feierstein said.
He clarified that the certification required in the Bill was a routine affair.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, October 03, 2009, 12:09