“I think that the idea that we would conduct operations in Pakistan in any extent is not valid and nor do I think we would want to,” Lt Gen Stanley A McChrystal told the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing.

The General said that operations in Pakistan against Taliban and other terrorists have to be done only by the Pakistan military, as is the case now in the Swat Valley.

US President Barack Obama has nominated McChrystal to be commander of the Internal Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and those of the US forces in Afghanistan.

“I think the road to success in Pakistan is through the government of Pakistan and through the Pakistani military and Pakistani police. It gets to the building partnership capacity kinds of activities that we have done with Pakistan and hopefully will do with increasing effectiveness over the years or in the years in the future,” he said.

“I think everything we can do to share intelligence with them, to share in some cases ISR assets, that sort of thing, to coordinate operations, there have been a number of coordination centers established, those are still growing in size and in scope,” McChrystal said.

“So I think everything we can do to empower and increase their capacity is really the road we've got to go inside Pakistan,” he added.

“According to him, the problem of refugees, if not handled properly, could become another breeding ground for the Taliban.

“I think the number of IDPs (internally displaced people) if they are, if they hold the government responsible for their plight, obviously offer the chance for a greater unrest,” he said.

He said, “I think right now the sense is they hold the Taliban, the insurgents responsible. But I think that's got to be worked hard by the Pakistani government with whatever help the world can give.”

He was responding to a question from Senator Kay Hagan about the type of counter-insurgency and cross-border strategy US should adopt along with the Pakistan Army so as to deny the Taliban and Al Qeada safe havens there.

Referring to her meeting with the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, last week the Senator Hagan said that al Qaeda's presence in Afghanistan is really shifted to Pakistan's federally administered tribal area and specifically in Waziristan.