LeT, an "extremely capable" terror group with a sophisticated regional network, continues to plan its operations from within Pakistan, a US government report has said, warning that militant safe havens inside that country pose greatest threat to American national security.
"Despite international condemnation for its November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) continues to plan regional operations from within Pakistan. LeT is an
extremely capable terrorist organisation with a sophisticated regional network," the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its 51-page report Friday.
"It (LeT) continues to view American interests as legitimate targets. While the Government of Pakistan has banned LeT, it needs to take further action against this group
and its front organisations, which find safe haven within Pakistan," it said.
Despite increased efforts by Pakistani security forces, al-Qaeda terrorists, Afghan militants, foreign insurgents and Pakistani militants continue to find safe haven in portions of Pakistan's Federally administered Tribal Areas
(FATA), NWFP or Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province and Balochistan, it said.
In the report titled 'Combating Terrorism: US
Government Should Improve Its Reporting on Terrorist Safe Havens', the GAO said al-Qaeda and other groups such as the Haqqani network used the FATA to launch attacks in Afghanistan, plan operations worldwide, train, recruit and
disseminate propaganda.
The Pakistani Taliban -- under the umbrella moniker Tehrik-e-Taliban or TTP -- also used the FATA to plan attacks against the civilian and military targets across Pakistan, it said.
The Indo-US partnership, which is based on shared democratic values and vital economic and
security interests, will be an indispensable pillar of stability in South Asia and beyond, American Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.
"The United States and India are working more closely together than ever before. During the Cold War there was an uneasy co-existence between the world's largest democracy and the world's oldest," Gates said in his speech to the
Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Now, there is a partnership based on shared democratic values and vital economic and security interests, he noted.
"A partnership that will be an indispensable pillar of stability in South Asia and beyond whether countering piracy, increasing participation in multilateral venues, or aiding the development of Afghanistan, our partnership is playing a vital role," Gates said in his speech in which he emphasised on the need to have engagement with top Asian countries.
He said the US is a Pacific nation, and that requires it to sustain its allies while maintaining a robust military engagement and deterrent posture across the Pacific Rim.
"Indeed, one of the most striking – and surprising –changes I've observed during my travels to Asia is the widespread desire across the region for stronger military-to-military relationships with the United States –
much more so than during my last time in government 20 years ago," he said.
The US engagement in Asia has been guided by a set of enduring principles that have fostered the economic growth and stability of the region, Gates said.
These principles, supported by both US major political parties, include free and open commerce; a just international order that highlights rights and responsibilities of nations
and fidelity to the rule of law; and open access by all to the global commons of sea, air, space, and now, cyberspace.
"I believe our work in Asia is laying the groundwork for continued prosperity and security for the United States and for the region," he said.
The US will do more and expand into other areas in non-traditional ways, he added.
"We've taken a number of steps towards establishing a defence posture across the Asia-Pacific that is more geographically distributed, operationally resilient, and
politically sustainable," Gates said.
The military posture proposed will maintain American presence in northeast Asia while enhancing US presence in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean area, he noted.