Pakistan identified as a base for terrorist groups: Report

Pakistan is still identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters "operating in Kashmir, India and Afghanistan", a latest Congressional report has said.

Though acknowledging that Pakistan has started taking strong military action against Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists in recent months, the report said, "Pakistan is identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters operating in Kashmir, India, and Afghanistan."

Terming the Pakistani military operations as unprecedented, the report, however, said the offensive had so far proved "largely ineffectual" in the country's western tribal areas, where al-Qaeda operatives and pro-Taliban militants are said to enjoy "safe haven."

US officials increasingly are concerned that indigenous religious extremists represent a serious threat to the stability of the Pakistani state, it said.

"US concerns regarding Pakistan include regional and global terrorism; Afghan stability; democratization and human rights protection; the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions; and economic development," it said.

But it also said that a stable, democratic, prosperous Pakistan actively combating religious militancy is considered vital to US interests.

The report by Congressional Research Service or CRS, an independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares reports on various issues for the convenience of the US lawmakers, was made available to the media today.