US says evidence ties militant group to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Islamabad says there is evidence linking the Haqqani militant network to the Pakistani government.

The U.S. and NATO blame the Haqqani network for many of the attacks in Afghanistan, including this week’s strike on the U.S. Embassy.

The group is widely assumed to be based just over the Afghan border in Pakistan.

Ambassador Cameron Munter told Radio Pakistan “there is evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistan government” and that “this is something that must stop.”

U.S. officials have long suspected links between Pakistan and the Haqqani network, but rarely say so publicly and as directly as Munter did.

There was no immediate reaction from the government to Munter’s remarks.