US: Pakistan uses jihadis

US military and policy mavens say Pakistan hasn't yet fully committed to the counterterrorism fight because it sees jihadis as proxies in Kashmir.

The Asia Society, whose chairman was Richard Holbrooke until he was appointed President Barack Obama’s envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, released a report on Thursday saying US policy on Afghanistan must focus on Pakistan ending the use of militant groups as an instrument of foreign policy.

The report titled Back from the Brink? A Strategy for Stabilising Afghanistan-Pakistan was shared with the administration before Obama announced his AfPak blueprint last week. Holbrooke and National Security Adviser General James Jones were members of the report’s task force but recently stepped down to assume their new appointments.

“Because it faces India, which it sees as an enemy...Pakistan has adopted formally the use of jihadi groups as instruments of their foreign policy,” Barnett Rubin, task force co-chair said at a panel discussion in New York to mark the public release of the report.
General David Petraeus, who is the chief commander in  Afghanistan, is also a known advocate for regional diplomacy as a key counter-insurgency tactic. He told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday: “Many Pakistani leaders remain focused on India as Pakistan's principal threat, and some may even continue to regard Islamist extremist groups as a potential strategic asset.”