More foreign fighters, including Al-Qaeda militants, are operating in Pakistan's tribal areas than in the past, underscoring the need for Pakistan to crack down on insurgent safe havens, the top US military officer said during a visit here. Adm. Mike Mullen said militants are flowing into Afghanistan more freely this year compared with last year because Pakistan's government and military are not putting enough pressure on insurgents. “There's a clear problem on the border,” Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. “There's clearly not enough pressure being brought to bear, particularly on the Pakistan side of the border. There's more freedom there,” he said. “There's a new government in Pakistan who is working its way through figuring out how to get at the extremist challenge.” Mullen said that a recent pact Pakistan's government made to go after militants who don't agree to lay down their weapons could be useful if it's enforced. Previous peace deals in Pakistan's tribal areas only gave insurgents freedom to carry out militant operations. “There are clearly more foreign fighters in the FATA (Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas) than have been there in the past,” he added. “What it really speaks to is that's a safe haven and it's got to be eliminated for all insurgents, not just Al-Qaeda, although Al-Qaeda certainly is a top priority because of the threat Al-Qaeda represents.” Attacks in eastern Afghanistan, where US forces operate along the border with Pakistan, are up 40 percent this year compared with last year, and June was the deadliest month for US and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan since the 2001 US
