Hillary seeks 'unequivocal' Pakistani action against militants

US Secretary of State said the uneasy partner must be unequivocal in its approach.Testifying before Congress after a trip to the region, Ms Clinton said she delivered a frank message to Pakistan that it was urgent to act against the extremist Haqqani network, which she blamed for anti-US attacks in Afghanistan.I explained that trying to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad terrorists is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous, Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected.We look to Pakistan to encourage the Taliban and other insurgents to participate in an Afghan peace process in good faith -- both through unequivocal public statements and by closing off the safe havens, she added.Ms Clinton used usual strong language on last weeks trip, saying that US tolerance has worn thin after indications that the Haqqani network is targeting Americans, including through a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul.The top US diplomat supported the assessment of the outgoing US military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, who last month said that the Haqqani network was a veritable arm of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence.During Clintons visit, Pakistans Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that both her country and Afghanistan can do more against militants but denied any official support for the Haqqani network.Pakistan, once the primary backer of Afghanistans Taliban regime, switched sides to join the United States in its military campaign after the September 11, 2001 attacks.But the partnership has been unpopular with the Pakistani public and US officials say that official elements -- perhaps acting outside the control of the civilian government -- have maintained support to militants.MUMBAI HITS: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Pakistan should do more to punish militants over the 2008 Mumbai attacks but stopped short of making it a condition in ties with Washington.Under questioning at the US congressional panel, Clinton said that the United States was speaking to both India and Pakistan about Lashkar-e-Taiba which investigators say carried out the bloodbath that killed 166 people.Every time we meet with the Pakistanis, we press them on LeT, about the continuing failure -- in our view -- to fulfill all of the requirements necessary for prosecution related to the Mumbai attacks, Clinton said.And we will continue to do so, she told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.But she stopped short of linking action on the group to the US relationship with Pakistan, which is already tense in the wake of a secret US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May near the countrys premier military academy.I do not want to commit at this time to taking such a path because I think its important that there be further consideration of all of the implications, Clinton said.