NATO commander says Pakistan sovereign, hopes for agreement enforcement

NEW YORK: Acknowledging Pakistan’s sovereignty over its areas, a senior NATO commander in Afghanistan has expressed the hope for enforcement of any peace agreements in the country’s areas along restive Afghan-Pakistani border.
“Pakistan is a sovereign country. Our interest from NATO’s perspective is that whatever agreements are made will hopefully be enforceable,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J.
Schloesser told Newsweek. At the same time, the new NATO commander favored talks with legitimate tribal leaders in Afghanistan.
“We concentrate on working with tribal leaders who are legitimate in the eyes of the people and those [leaders] who have been appointed by the government at the district and provincial level. We believe that’s culturally accurate, because the tribal leaders and the mullahs have positions of authority that go back hundreds of years.
“We have an elected government at the highest level and an appointed government in the provinces, and we believe that’s a good mix. Those are the Afghans we are concentrating on,” he said. Schoesser, who recently took over the alliance’s command in insurgency-hit country, said increase in insurgent activity on the border is a matter of concern.
He did not reply to a question if there is any official prohibition to prevent talking to Taliban militants, saying “that’s not in my realm to answer.”
“The Afghan government has a peace and reconciliation program. But we do make recommendations [to the government] about people we believe are ready to do that [lay down their arms and join the government’s side] if we do run into them one way or the other.”
Asked if he believed “as many people do, that Osama bin Laden is hiding somewhere in your area of operations, perhaps in Kunar province,” the NATO commander replied:
“That’s a superhard question to answer. As you know, each and every day we are doing everything we can to not only help the Afghan people but also to look for the enemies of the Afghan people, and of the rest of the world. Osama bin Laden is one of them. I guarantee you if he is in our area we are going to continue each and every day to try to find him.