Lahore, Apr. 24: Questions are being raised over Pakistan’s capability and willingness to counter the expanding writ of the Taliban, and now a US expert has said that Islamabad does not have any strategy in place to counter the threat.

“I don’t think the Pakistani establishment knows what they’re going to do with this problem, and when I say the establishment, I mean the political-military establishment. I don’t think they have a real plan. I think they’re surviving day-to-day,” CNN’s national security analyst Peter Bergen said.

Highlighting the continous political chaos in the country which has weakened it over the years, Bergen said: “In Pakistan there was a weak elected civilian government and a strong un-elected ‘military government’ that continued to have a veto over national security policy.”

Bergen expressed fears that if Pakistan falls into the hands of extremists, it would then pose a greater threat to the world than Afghanistan.

“If this country breaks up or if the militants were to take over, that is a much bigger deal than Afghanistan,” the Daily Times quoted Bergen, as saying.

When enquired as to why the United States was continuing with its financial and military support to Pakistan, he said that terrorist outfits such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda had made the country as their headquarters, which America had to wipe out.

“Pakistan is where the Taliban are headquartered. Pakistan is where Al Qaeda is headquartered. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Pakistan has proliferated nuclear weapon technologies to other rogue states,” Bergen added.
(ANI)