| Al Qaeda has regrouped in Pakistan’s remote Afghan border area and begun to focus attacks on the country’s government and military, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday. However, the Pentagon chief said Al Qaeda’s activities in Pakistan have not yet affected Afghanistan, where US and coalition forces have faced increased Taliban violence in the past two years. “There is no question that some of the areas in the frontier region have become areas where Al Qaeda has re-established itself,” Gates said. “But so far, we haven’t seen any significant consequence of that in Afghanistan itself. Al Qaeda right now seems to have turned its face toward Pakistan and attacks on the Pakistani government and Pakistani people,” he told reporters. Gates said the Pentagon was looking for ways to improve the Pakistani army’s counter-insurgency capabilities by providing equipment. |