8216;Pak not willing to work with US to manage terror8217;

A US based think-tank has called Pakistan a 'thriving sanctuary' for Al-qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan.

Calling Pakistan a 8220;thriving sanctuary8221; for Al-Qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan,a prominent US think tank has said Islamabad is unwilling to cooperate with Washington to manage the 8220;jihadist8221; problem.

8220;It Pakistan is a thriving sanctuary for both Afghan and Al-Qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan. At the same time,Pakistan contains the primary supply lines for US and NATO troops fighting those militants in Afghanistan,8221; Stratfor,the think tank,said.

8220;Pakistani government is aware of the dangers posed to the country by the jihadist insurgency,particularly as attacks spread beyond the Pashtun borderlands and reach deeper into the Pakistani heartland of Punjab province,8221; it said.

Pakistan does not appear to be any closer to seeing eye-to-eye with the Americans on how to manage the jihadist problem,it said.

8220;Unless something changes in Pakistan,the US plan for Afghanistan will be riddled with strategic flaws,8221; Stratfor said.

It said Pakistani Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces are now focusing much of their attention on attacking NATO supply convoys inside Pakistan.

Stratfor8217;s comments came when Richard Holbrooke,the Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan,and the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen were in Islamabad holding talks with Pakistani leadership.

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The US strongly disapproves of Pakistani military and political leader8217;s decision to strike deals with the Pakistani Taliban that aim to redirect the group8217;s focus from Pakistan back to Afghanistan,Stratfor said.

But the Pakistani intelligence,who has a history with these militants,is not convinced that the US,despite its promised commitment of development in Pakistan and Afghanistan development,will keep its troops in South Asia for the long haul,it said.

8220;At the end of the day,Islamabad wants to keep its options open. That means not alienating these jihadist groups,as Islamabad fears US drone attacks in the tribal regions might do,8221; Stratfor said.

The think tank also said when US is trying to beef up its military presence in Afghanistan by another 21,000 troops its policy on Afghanistan will depend on the situations in Pakistan.