Thursday, April 23, 2009

Nato Needs New Mandate to Engage Taliban in Pakistn

SOFIA: Nato's Secretary General has ruled out any cross-border raids into Pakistan by the alliance's troops in Afghanistan.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Thursday that the mandate of the 47,000-strong Nato force is strictly limited to Afghanistan.

Taliban in Swat Valley have been tightening their grip on a neighboring district closer to Islamabad. De Hoop Scheffer spoke to reporters in Sofia after talks with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev.

In his remarks, De Hoop Scheffer praised Bulgaria, which joined the alliance five years ago, as a ‘staunch Nato ally.’ He stressed that Nato will continue its open-door policy to all countries that meet membership criteria.

From here.

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