US sees Pakistan 'strategic shift' in war on Taliban

The United States has seen a "strategic shift" by Pakistan in the past months during its fight against Taliban militants, a senior US official said Friday. Under US pressure, Pakistan is waging multiple military offensives against Islamist militant havens. Washington brands the country's northwest tribal belt as the most dangerous place in the world and the chief sanctuary of Al-Qaeda. "In the last nine months we've seen a significant strategic shift in Pakistan," a senior administration official said. "That strategic shift is the decision by the Pakistani security forces to take the fight against the Pakistani Taliban." He highlighted the situation in the Swat valley in the northwest tribal areas of Pakistan, which have served as a rear base for Afghan Taliban militants. "If you go to Swat today, there are two Pakistani (army) divisions. They're doing classic counterinsurgency." Another senior US official told reporters that recent arrests of Afghan Taliban members and leaders in Pakistan was a clear signal of the close cooperation taking place on the ground. "There have been a number of commanders as well as leaders taken off the battlefield in the last several months," the official said. "Based on the recent captures and kills, it demonstrates that there are fewer places to hide... as well as more broadly across the Afghan Pak region." Highlighting the recent capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the official stressed the cooperation with Pakistan against the Taliban. "Cooperation and collaboration of both of those governments and their services, I think continue to improve and strengthen across the board, in terms of thwarting attacks as well as capturing and killing if necessary," he said. "We're working very closely with the Pakistanis on individuals that are of interest to us and are terrorists. The trendline is strong, positive. "We're pleased with the Pakistani ability to move into areas that had been safe havens." Agents from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) reportedly joined US spies in a recent operation that captured Afghan Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the Pakistani metropolis of Karachi. And senior US general David Petraeus, who heads the Central Command, visited Islamabad on Tuesday and hailed "important breakthroughs" in Pakistan. President Barack Obama has put a high priority on nuclear-armed Pakistan as he sends thousands more troops to Afghanistan in a bid to root out Islamic extremism. The US media have reported that four senior Taliban leaders have been captured in the past week in Pakistan.