Thaindian News

Islamabad, Oct 18 (IANS) The massing of heavily-armed US and NATO troops at the Afghanistan border amid tension over the Haqqani Network may be to “exert pressure on Pakistan and see how it will react to it”, a daily said Tuesday.

The US and NATO have shifted hundreds of troops, heavy arms and helicopter gunships to the border along North Waziristan and completely sealed it.

The News International editorially said that the move comes after weeks of tension between Pakistan and the US over the Haqqani Network and US demands that action be initiated against it as a group responsible for staging attacks inside Afghanistan.

“The key question right now is: What exactly are US-NATO intentions in making this move?

“While the abrupt deployment of forces has escalated tension in militancy-plagued North Waziristan, it may also have ended the long debate over sealing the Pak-Afghan border as the only viable cure for the cross-border infiltration of militants and subsequent attacks carried out by them,” the editorial said.

Some have termed the US act of sealing the border a welcome development for checking militants’ movement.

“But, as happens in a game of chess, the prime purpose behind the move may also be to exert pressure on Pakistan and see how it will react to it.

“If this is so - given the tone and tenor consistently used by US officials over the past few weeks - the heat is on and there is some danger of fire,” it said.

The editorial went on to say that some analysts believe the move is essentially a bluff and the US will not move forward any further.

“After all, it has not had much military success in Afghanistan, and would in all likelihood prefer not to spread itself still thinner. Others have cautioned about the risks involved if US forces are sent into Pakistani areas; this would undoubtedly be an undesirable development, to put it very mildly, and would jeopardise Pak-US cooperation again.”

The editorial warned that “a unilateral military move by the US will only accentuate US-NATO security problems and cause yet another crisis in relations with Pakistan”.