Pakistan terrorists getting outside funding: Holbrooke

ISLAMABAD - Terrorists in Pakistan are getting funding from outside the country, US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has said.

Sources of funding for terrorists come from outside the country as well as through extortion of NATO supply convoys, Holbrooke said at the Special Radio Roundtable discussion Sunday.

Without elaborating on the funding sources, he said he was aware of the sacrifices made by the Pakistan Army in the war against terror and that too in difficult terrain.

The army is battling heavily armed Taliban guerrillas in the rugged mountainous Waziristan region. The fight against terror has been a challenge for the army as the militants are well-entrenched.

Holbrooke, who is here to represent the US at the Pakistan Development Forum, said this was a serious issue and they were working to address it. The forum is an international consortium that provides economic aid to Pakistan.

The US has provided billions in assistance to help Pakistan cope with the aftermath of the recent floods, Daily Times quoted Holbrooke as saying.

Pakistan was one of the most under-taxed countries in the world, the US envoy said. He added that it was the obligation of the rich to contribute from their income for the welfare of the people and mitigate the sufferings of people in distress.