Pak redesigning country's war on terror blueprint ahead of US Afghan pullout

Islamabad, Aug 1 (ANI): As military ties with the United States continued to sour, Pakistan's security establishment is reportedly in the middle of a 'strategic review' to redesign the country's war on terror blueprint.

The decision is based on the assumptions that the global financing of battle against the al Qaeda is rapidly shrinking, and that the worsening situation might lead to an abrupt withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, The Express Tribune reports.

"We believe there is no more money left in the world to finance the war against terror ... and there doesn't seem to be enough interest now. Nobody seems ready to invest in this futile battle," a senior security official said.

"We also think that the pullout from Afghanistan will not be phased as being planned in Washington and other capitals. At the end, it could possibly be more chaotic and abrupt," he added.

Last month, the US administration withheld 800 million dollars in military aid to Pakistan.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said over the weekend that Washington would struggle to pay its troops if the ongoing crisis was not resolved amicably and immediately.

It is widely believed in Pakistan that the suspension of aid was among the early signs that the US will not be spending much on war on terror in the future.

Meanwhile, sources have revealed that making peace with some of the homegrown Taliban groups, which had been hostile to Pakistan and its military, could also be part of the new game-plan being designed to deal with an Afghanistan without US presence.

Some of the officials also claimed that part of the new strategy was already being employed in the tribal areas and secret efforts aimed at the 'reorientation' of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were already underway.

Under the new plan, the TTP leadership would be asked to focus its attention to fight against international forces in Afghanistan and spare Pakistan, and in return, they would be offered 'concessions' similar to those being enjoyed by the Haqqani network, a group of pro-Pakistan Afghan Taliban based in North Waziristan and operating across the border against the US-led multinational forces, they added. (ANI)