Top US, Pak army commanders meet on board an American carrier

New York, Aug 29 (PTI) Top US and Pakistani army
commanders had a highly unusual secret meeting on board an
American aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean to discuss how
to combat the escalating violence along the border between
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The leading actors in the day long conference were
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the New York
Times reported.

The paper said the meeting had been convened Wednesday
by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

While officials of the two allies offered few details
on Wednesday about what was decided or even discussed at the
meeting - including any new strategies, tactics, weapons or
troop deployment- the star-studded list of participants and an
extreme secrecy surrounding the talks, New York Times said the
talks underscored how gravely the two nations regarded the
growing militant threat.

Mullen and Kayani were joined on board the carrier USS
Abraham Lincoln by Gen David H Petraeus, the top US commander
in Iraq who will soon become the senior officer in the
middle-east, David D Mckiernan, NATO'S top commander in
Afghanistan and Admiral Eric T Olson head of the US special
operations command.

Also present were Lt Gen Martin E Dempsey, acting
commander of American forces in the Middle-East and Rear
Admiral Michael A LeFever, the senior American military
liaison to Pakistan.

Gen Kayani was accompanied by his top key commanders.

The Times said the meeting was prompted by a series of
ominous developments: continuing political turmoil in
Pakistan, increasingly deadly attacks against Afghan and
western targets in Afghanistan and American complaints that
the Pakistani military has been ineffective in stemming the
flow of militants who launch attacks in Afghanistan from
Pakistani havens. (MORE) PTI AKD