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Top US Military Official to Meet With Pakistani Leaders

   VOA News  April 20, 2011
   Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen gestures during a news
   conference at the Pentagon (File Photo)

Photo: AP

   Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen gestures during a news
   conference at the Pentagon (File Photo)

   The top U.S. military officer is traveling to Pakistan on Wednesday,
   where he will meet with leaders and discuss concerns about ties between
   militants and the country's intelligence service.
   Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said
   Tuesday during a visit to Afghanistan that he will address the
   relationship between the Haqqani network and Pakistan's Inter-Services
   Intelligence agency.
   He said the talks will include a meeting with Pakistani Army Chief
   Ashfaq Kayani.
   The visit comes amid tensions between the two countries following the
   arrest of a CIA contractor in Pakistan, a series of deadly drone
   attacks in Pakistan's northwest, and a White House report that
   criticized Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts.
   On Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called for an
   end to U.S. drone strikes, saying the United States should share
   intelligence so Pakistan can take action against terrorists on its own
   soil.
   His comments came during a meeting in Islamabad with a U.S.
   congressional delegation led by the speaker of the U.S. House of
   Representatives, John Boehner.
   U.S. officials have never publicly acknowledged the use of drone
   strikes inside Pakistan, but privately they have confirmed their
   existence to various news outlets. Pakistan publicly denounces the
   strikes as infringing on its sovereignty.

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