Nato chief calls for enhanced ties with Islamabad

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the military alliance’s new strategy to uproot terrorism from the Pak-Afghan region is based on increased cooperation with Islamabad.  Rasmussen said the U.S-led coalition must emerge victorious in its battle with the Taliban in Afghanistan, otherwise the militant outfit would destabilise not only Afghanistan, but Pakistan as well. The Nato chief added that Afghanistan cannot be allowed to become a safe haven for extremists, otherwise the country would be used to launch terror attacks into several Central Asian states. Rasmussen also warned that Islamabad cannot afford to drop its guard, as there are Al-Qaeda elements in Afghanistan that want to take over Pakistan, which is a nuclear-armed Pakistan.