Haqqani network to be designated terror group soon: Hillary Clinton

“We are in the final formal review that has to be undertaken to make a government-wide decision to designate the network as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation,” Clinton told reporters at a joint press availability with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr.

“But remember,we’ve already designated the key leaders. I did that some time ago to make it clear that the leaders of this organisation fell under the Foreign Terrorist

designation,” she said.

“So we’re going to continue to struggle against terrorism,and in particular against those who have taken up safe havens inside Pakistan. We are going to continue to work with our Pakistani counterparts to try to root them out and prevent them from attacking Pakistanis,Americans,Afghans,or anyone else,” Clinton said.

The State Department has carried out a number of Executive Order 13224 designations that target,essentially the kingpins of the Haqqani Network – financiers,leadership,as well as some of its most dangerous operatives.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen had directly accused Pakistan’s intelligence service ISI of supporting the Haqqani network’s attack on the US embassy in Kabul.

US,Pak have ‘strategic interest’ in fight against terrorism

US and Pakistan have a vital strategic interest in the fight against terrorism and both the countries are working to figure out how best to work together,Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.

“It is important to realise that while it’s not always easy,the United States and Pakistan have vital strategic interests that converge in the fight against terrorism,” Clinton told reporters during a joint press availability with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr. “Pakistan faces a very real threat. They have suffered far more casualties,civilians and military alike. It is their mosques and markets and police stations and homes that have been bombed and attacked,” she said in response to a question.

Clinton said the US is committed to working with Pakistan to confront this threat.

“We have had a lot of tangible results from our cooperation. I mean,most recently the Pakistanis helped to roll up al-Qaeda’s number two. They have been helping us continue to dismantle the al-Qaeda network that is inside Pakistan,” she said.

“So I have no argument with anyone who says this is a very difficult and complex relationship,because it is. But I also believe strongly that we have to work together despite those difficulties,” she said.

Clinton met her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in New York last week for more than three hours.

“We discussed the urgency in the wake of the attack on our Embassy in Kabul and on the NATO-ISAF Headquarters for us to confront the threat posed by the Haqqani Network. It was certainly a threat to the United States,but it was also a threat to Pakistan,to Afghanistan,and to anyone who stands against terrorism,” she said.