Parliamentary body warns US pressure will backfire

US President Barack Obamas warning to Islamabad over suspected ties to militants will hurt efforts to stabilise Afghanistan and fuel anti-Americanism, the Chairman Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Salim Saifullah said on Friday.This is not helping the United States, Afghanistan or Pakistan, said Salim.There will be pressure on the (Pakistan) government to get out of this war, he said, referring to the US war on militancy. Obama warned Pakistan on Thursday that its ties with unsavory characters had put relations with the United States at risk, as he ratcheted up pressure on Islamabad to cut links with militants mounting attacks in Afghanistan.His comments are likely to deepen a crisis in the strategic alliance between the United States and Pakistan. Obama accused Pakistans leaders of hedging their bets on Afghanistans future, but stopped short of threatening to cut off US aid, despite calls from lawmakers for a tougher line over accusations that Pakistani intelligence supported strikes on US targets in Afghanistan.Pakistan says it has sacrificed more than any other nation that joined Americas global war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, losing 10,000 soldiers and security forces, and 30,000 civilians.Ties were heavily strained after US special forces launched a unilateral raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town on May 2.They deteriorated further after the top US military official accused Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of supporting a Sept. 13 attack by the Taliban-allied Haqqani militant group on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.Saifullah said Washingtons public criticism of Pakistan was counter-productive and would only encourage militant groups. War in Afghanistan is passing through a critical phase, evolutionary phase, he said. At this stage, muddying water is not appropriate. This is exactly what the militants want. They are playing to their tune. This is adding strength to them.Obama made clear that future US-Pakistani relations would depend heavily on whether Islamabad complies with Washingtons demands to sever connections with insurgents.Many Pakistanis believe they have been dragged into a war against militancy that only serves American interests.That sentiment has become more widespread because of an escalation of US drone aircraft missile strikes against militants in Pakistan under the Obama administration.Instead of public confrontation, Obama should work more closely with Pakistan to bring peace to Afghanistan, said Saifullah.