Weeks after Trump angrily accused Islamabad of providing safe haven to “agents of chaos,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to depart for Pakistan late this month. While professing anger in public, Pakistani officials in private complain about receiving no concrete requests to target the Haqqani network or other groups. Pakistani officials also complain of receiving mixed messages from the Trump administration, which is still struggling to find its feet under a mercurial commander-in-chief. After that, Pakistan officials said, they were surprised at a tougher tone outlined in public by Mattis and in private by Trump’s National Security Advisor HR McMaster. Punitive economic sanctions -- that could force Pakistan closer to China, Russia or Turkey -- seem a long way off.

Source: Hindustan Times October 07, 2017 03:22 UTC