Islamabad, Feb. 12 : US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke has sternly told Pakistan to eliminate militants from FATA and promised that the US would keep its promise to deliver 1.5 billion dollars aid to equip Pakistan's armed forces with counter-insurgency paraphernalia.

But, both Pakistan's `intentions and the ability' to curb militancy from vast swathes of territory are under serious doubt.

Despite President Obama's emphasis on soft-power options, Pakistan remains first and foremost a security challenge to his administration, the Dawn reports.

Pakistan's give and take relations with America are not all that open and announced. One example of secret `offers' and `deals' is the US drone strikes in FATA to which the public is not privy.

Publicly, the Pakistan Government and army oppose such strikes and denounce them as unhelpful. But the accuracy of the US drone strikes proves that Pakistan has passed on detailed information to the US army.

The political intentions behind ground level information passed to the US can't be denied. Does the political temperature in Pakistan specifically decide what else is put on the table for the strike?

The Pakistani public is not only questioning America's anti-terror strategies, but is also uncertain about their government's hidden motives.

The Pakistan armed forces are fighting in Swat, Bajaur, Khyber, Mohmand -but is their goal the elimination of the militants or simply to put the genie back in the bottle? The Pakistani Government is not even mentioning plans to regain the two Waziristan agencies, Baitullah and Mehsud, which are being ruled by terrorists.

In such murky circumstances, can Americans benefit from deeper ties with Pakistan? (ANI)