Pak not doing enough to combat terrorism: Germany

Addressing a news conference ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin this Saturday, German Ambassador Thomas Matussek said the internal situation in Pakistan is "unstable."

Matussek said it would in the interest of the international community if the Pakistan security apparatus "chase out" al-Qaeda and other terror elements from the country.

"If Pakistan goes down...it will affect countries like India," he said, adding efforts should be made to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of civilian rule. "The situation in Pakistan is an issue of central concern to us. The internal situation in Pakistan is unstable. Pakistan is not doing enough to combat terrorism," he said.

Besides bilateral issues, the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan and counter terrorism strategies will be on the agenda of Singh-Merkel summit when the Prime Minister flies to Berlin for a brief visit after attending the Indo-European Union(EU) summit in Brussels on Friday. Singh leaves for Brussels this Thursday.

The Ambassador said inputs relating to the terror threat in Germany were also shared with Indian intelligence officials. Matussek's comments came against the backdrop of American and European officials having recently detected a plot to carry out a major, coordinated series of commando-style terror attacks in Britain, France, Germany and possibly the US.

The new threat to France, Germany, Britain and to the US is coming from Pakistan, according to western intelligence officials. Several teams of attackers, all with European passports, had been reportedly trained and dispatched from training camps in Pakistan and in Waziristan on the Af-Pak border.

Replying to questions, Matusset said the security and stability of Afghanistan is directly linked to Germany's own security. In Matusset's view, the Pakistan Army cannot play any role to bring stability in Afghanistan.

"We cannot use Pakistan Army to stabilise Afghanistan," he added. Matusset also made a strong pitch for India and the 27-nation European Union(EU) to evolve joint strategies to fight terrorism.