Panetta’s remarks on militant safe havens misplaced: Pak

“We strongly believe that such statements are misplaced and unhelpful in bringing about peace and stability in the region,” he added.

Khan’s statement came a day after Pakistan’s envoy to the US Sherry Rehman said Panetta’s remarks had further reduced the space for narrowing bilateral differences. “It adds an unhelpful twist to the process and leaves little oxygen for those of us seeking to break a stalemate,” she had said.

During recent visits to India and Afghanistan,Panetta had criticised Pakistan for not doing enough to tackle militants in its tribal areas responsible for cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

Speaking in Kabul on Thursday,Panetta said the US was losing patience with Pakistan on the issue of militant safe havens on the Pakistani side of the border. While in Delhi,he said the US would continue drone strikes against militants in Pakistan’s tribal belt despite protests from Islamabad that the attacks violate its sovereignty.

Responding to these remarks,Foreign Office spokesman Khan said,”We feel that the Secretary of Defence is oversimplifying some of the very complex issues we are all dealing with in our efforts against extremism and terrorism.

“These issues need to be seen in the context of overall peace and stability in Afghanistan and the broader region.”