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Pakistan

CIA gets nod to step up drone strikes in Pakistan

Dunya News

Obama administration has allowed CIA to resume aggressive drone strikes in Pakistan.

Expressing public and private frustration with Pakistan, the Obama administration has unleashed the CIA to resume an aggressive campaign of drone strikes in Pakistani territory over the last few weeks, approving strikes that might have been vetoed in the past for fear of angering Islamabad, US newspaper stated.Now, said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity in discussing sensitive issues, the administrations attitude is, What do we have to lose?Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta made clear the deteriorating relations with Islamabad on Thursday, saying the United States is reaching the limits of our patience because Pakistan has not cracked down on local insurgents who carry out deadly attacks on U.S. troops and others in neighboring Afghanistan.It is difficult to achieve peace in Afghanistan as long as there is safe haven for terrorists in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters on the last stop of his nine-day swing through Asia. He made it clear the drone strikes will continue.