Washington: Piling up pressure on Pakistan, the US has asked its authorities, particularly ISI, to sever ties with the Haqqani network of Taliban and demanded "strong and immediate action" against the outfit.
However, the US insisted that there was no permanent breach in bilateral relations and lines of communication were open.
"It is critical that the government of Pakistan break any links they have, and take strong and immediate action against this network so that they are no longer a threat to the United States or to the people of Pakistan -- because this network is a threat to both," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Friday evening.
Carney said the Obama administration believed and knew that the Haqqani network was responsible for the attacks on the US embassy in Kabul and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters, and a number of other recent attacks that caused death and injury not only to Afghans but to American soldiers.
"We know that the Haqqani network operates from safe havens in Pakistan and that the government of Pakistan has not taken action against these safe havens," he said, adding that top US officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, would continue to have conversations with the Pakistani leadership on this issue.
The United States, Carney said, had an important relationship with Pakistan.
"That relationship and the cooperation that we have had with Pakistan have assisted us greatly in our efforts to defeat al Qaeda. It is important to remember that Pakistan has suffered mightily at the hands of terrorists and they've paid a terrible price for it," he said.
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