It seems it has finally dawned on the western powers that they have to curtail the elements within Pakistan tribal areas if they want any sucess in Afghanistan. So close on heels of the US envoy , we have another from the Brits. Things are going to get hot for Pakistan as it is being increasingly seen as the last refuge for the Taliban and Alqaeeda …
Foreign Secretary David Miliband today named Sherard Cowper-Coles as his special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States and Britain, which has the second biggest foreign military contingent in Afghanistan, have spoken for months of the need for a broader regional strategy to deal with inter-linked problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan
He said Cowper-Coles would work closely with Richard Holbrooke, whom Obama named last month as U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and with other international partners ‘to help support both the Afghan and Pakistani governments’.
The United States and Afghanistan say al Qaeda and Taliban militants operate from sanctuaries in northwest Pakistan on the Afghan border, using the semi-autonomous tribal lands to orchestrate attacks in both countries and to plot operations in the West.