BAGRAM AIR BASE (Afghanistan), May 26: Pakistan should strike back at ‘terrorism’ or it will see more attacks like the one that killed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, US Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff said on Monday.

Extremists in Pakistan are a threat to that country as well as Afghanistan, he said when asked about Islamabad’s peace talks with pro-Taliban militants.

And it was important for the Pakistan government to see that “it ensures control and strikes back against terrorism,” he told reporters at the US military base at Bagram, 60km north of Kabul.

“Otherwise they’re going to see more of the kind of tragedies that they saw when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated or some of the bombings we’ve seen in the last several months in Pakistan and here in Afghanistan as well,” he said.

Chertoff was at the Bagram air base for a ceremony to award US citizenship to 44 troops from 12 countries serving in Washington’s war on terror launched with the invasion that toppled the Taliban from power in Kabul in 2001.

The secretary said there had been progress in the fight against extremists. However determination was still needed to “push back the enemy that is still trying to re-establish itself in some parts of Afghanistan, still threatening the young democracy we have here,” he said.

Afghanistan has seen a sharp rise in violence in the last year, even as the US and Nato have poured thousands of new troops into the country. The US now has some 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, the most ever.—Agencies

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...
Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...