US adamant to target Haqqani network

The acting deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, Patrick Ventrell, during a briefing Wednesday, said taht the US was clear about its objectives against Haqqani network. We’ve been pretty clear for a long time that the U.S. policy is to put pressure on the Haqqani Network. That includes both the sanctions that we’ve put on individuals, but also military pressure as well, he said while referring to the steps taken by ISAF forces on the Af-Pak border.He was also asked about the possibility of a decision to designate Haqqani network as a foreign terrorsi organization and whether this could have a negative impact on the US-Pakistan relations. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton is set to submit a report before the Congress by September 9th (Sunday) as to why the Haqqani network should not be designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).Mr. Ventrell, howeverm, refuses to divulge details of the report to be submitted by Secretary Clinton. Well, as you know – the Secretary does have a Congressional requirement to report to Congress, which she’ll meet. I don’t want to preview or prejudge what that might be. We’ll continue to target the Haqqani Network, but beyond that I don’t have anything to announce or preview at this time, he argued.Are you talking to Pakistan about this, ahead of the Secretary’s decision at the end of the week, another journalist asked but the spokesperson said taht this was a decision for the US government to make. He also declined that the US has any contact with Haqqani network regarding the decision to blacklist them as FTO.This is a decision that we’ll make, but routinely when we make significant decisions, we’re in counterparts both with Congress and with international partners as appropriate, but I just don’t have anything to preview, he stated when pressed more about the discussions with Pakistan on the contentious issue.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC