Washington sees 'very positive indicators' from Pakistan on militants, US General

The U.S. military is seeing some “positive indicators” from Pakistan showing it is becoming more responsive to U.S. concerns about militant safe havens in the country but Islamabad has yet to make a strategic shift, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.

The Reuters quoted General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, as saying, “We are now beginning to see very positive indicators ... that they are moving in the right direction,” said U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, citing unspecified Pakistani actions “on the ground.”

While delivering remarks at the National Council on at 26th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference in Washington, General Joseph Votel says, “It does not yet equal the decisive action that we would like to see them take in terms of a strategic shift, but they are positive indicators,” Votel told a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Earlier, a senior aide to U.S. President Donald Trump said during a visit to Pakistan that Washington wants a “new relationship” with Islamabad, the U.S. embassy said on Tuesday, amid worsening ties between the two nations.

“Ms. Curtis said that the United States seeks to move toward a new relationship with Pakistan, based on a shared commitment to defeat all terrorist groups that threaten regional stability,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.