US has no option but to engage risky Pak: Mullen

Washington: A top Pentagon official has said that there is a great risk in strategy tied to Pakistan, but not engaging the country, an epicenter of terrorism, is not an option for the US.

"There's great risk in the strategy tied to Pakistan. There has been from the beginning," Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Thursday.

"I think through Pakistani eyes, what you say, they are very concerned about an unstable Afghanistan that could threaten them with a much larger force. That's why getting to some level of stability and peaceful outcome here is so important. And I believe, if we can, Pakistan will come to that step," he said in response to a question.

Mullen said that he spoke to his counterpart in Pakistan after President Barack Obama announced drawdown of troops from Afghanistan, but there was no immediate reaction from them.

"I spoke with my Pakistani counterpart yesterday as we made many contacts. And so we agreed to talk in the near future after he is able to sort of absorb it. I mean, from a standpoint of how Pakistan views the future, and it's consistent across their government," he said.

"They see a stable, peaceful Afghanistan as a goal they, too, would like to be a result of this overall strategy. They live there. Seeing is believing, and over time exactly how they view this will be determined on how this works, I think, personally," Mullen said.

"I also think that they're clearly going through a very difficult time right now. From a strategic standpoint, I and many others believe, including the President, that we have to sustain this relationship, as difficult as it is," he said.

"This is a country that has a significant terrorist problem. It is a country whose economy is very weak, and it's a country with nuclear weapons that is in a very dangerous and strategically important part of the world," he added.

"I think not just the United States but the regional countries need to continue to focus on this so that stability is something that is the output of all of what we do there, not continued instability, because I think the continued downward trend is dangerous for all of us with respect to Pakistan, Afghanistan and the region writ large," Mullen said.