Terror outfits in Af-Pak border area now seeking global reach: Admiral Mullen

WASHINGTON - Top US military official Admiral Mike Mullen has again warned that the Afghan-Pak border area remains the ‘epicentre of terrorism,’ and added that many of the militant outfits based in that region are now seeking global reach.

“The reason we’re focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan is that living in that border area are the terrorists from various organisations and it has become the epicentre of terrorism in the world,” The Nation quoted Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying in a speech at the Texas A and M University.

“Several of those organisations, in addition to Al-Qaeda, now have global aspirations and are moving to a point of having global operational capacity. And they threaten us very specifically- the United States, Western interests, our European friends,” he added.

Keeping the pressure on the terrorist organisations was critical, he said, as he listed several measures, including improving governance, education and economics in countries whose youth were joining such groups, to tackle the challenge.

“I don’t think we can kill our way through this. I think those conditions have to change and that’s a long-term challenge. That’s not going to happen overnight,” Mullen noted.

“But together with other countries - responsible global powers - we can make significant progress over time. That’s the long-term answer,” he added. (ANI)