US: Islamic extremism is growing in Pakistan

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-10-2008 09:43

The top US military commander says the threat of Islamic extremism is growing in Pakistan.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs  of Staff, made the comments after meeting with  Pakistan's senior leadership in Islamabad.(CCTV.com)

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the comments after meeting with Pakistan's senior leadership in Islamabad.

Mullen said much of the discussion centered on the situation along Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan, where Pakistani forces have been battling Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "Certainly the threat is going up and we were both concerned about that. Certainly in my meetings today, all the leadership expressed concern about being able to eliminate that threat over time."

Mullen said he's even more convinced the border regions are very difficult to control and Pakistani forces are making sacrifices in their efforts.

He said Taliban and al-Qaida forces defeated in Afghanistan found "safe heavens" in areas of Pakistan.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "The challenge that we all have in addressing that threat is represented I think very clearly in the upsurge in violence, the change in tactics."

Mullen's comments came on the same day a suicide bomb killed at least 20 people at an election rally.

The blast went off inside a hall in the town of Charsadda in the turbulent North West Frontier province where Islamic extremists operate.

It was the latest in a string of attacks targeting politicians ahead of the February 18th vote.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei