Haqqani still pose “greatest” threat to America: US Commander

TIL Desk/World/Washington-Pakistan-based Haqqani network continues to pose “greatest” threat to US troops in Afghanistan, a top US commander based in the war-torn country said here, underlining the terror outfit remains America’s principal concern. “The Haqqanis still pose the greatest threat to Americans and to our coalition partners and to the Afghans,” General John Nicholson, Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan told reporters during a news conference here.

“The Haqqanis hold five American citizens hostage right now. I think this is worth remembering as we think about the Haqqani network. They remain a principal concern of ours. And they do enjoy sanctuary inside Pakistan,” Nicholson said during a Pentagon news conference. Nicholson said he is looking forward to meeting the new Pakistani Chief of Army Staff, General Bajwa.

“I’ll meet him upon my return to the region here next week,” he said. “There are many areas of mutual cooperation with the Pakistanis with respect to the border, our joint efforts against terrorism and so forth. So, we’re looking forward to working closely with them going forward,” he said.  Nicholson said the Afghan security forces have a hold approximately 64 per cent of the population.  This is down slightly from his 68 per cent that he talked about in September.