Free Republic

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army chief told parliament's defence committee that the United States should focus on stabilising Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistan to attack militant groups in a crucial border region, a committee member said on Wednesday. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani's comments could deepen a crisis in relations between the United States and Pakistan, whose alliance is critical to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan before the end of 2014, when NATO combat troops are due home. Kayani said Pakistan alone would decide if and when to launch a full-scale offensive in North Waziristan, which Western intelligence agencies say is a sanctuary...