General: Pakistan must cut extremist ties

• Tweet

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 28 (UPI) -- Gen. Ashfaq Fayani, Pakistan's top army officer, has said privately the military needs to stop extremist infiltration in its own ranks, Pakistani officials say.

Fayani has publicly criticized the United States for raiding Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbotabad without notifying Pakistan. But a senior intelligence official said he told U.S. representatives his most important goal is "bringing our house in order," The Washington Post reported Saturday.

"We are under attack, and the attackers are getting highly confidential information about their targets," the official, speaking anonymously, told the Post.

The United States did not alert Pakistan to the bin Laden raid beforehand because of fears he would be tipped off by insiders.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unannounced visit Friday to Islamabad with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She said the United States expects Pakistan to "take decisive steps in the days ahead."

Kayani and other top Pakistani officials are also feeling heat from their own population, as most Pakistanis are tired of extremist attacks and want order restored, the Post said.