General Petr Pavel has been Chairman of the NATO Military Committee since June 2015

WASHINGTON: The Haqqani Network continues to enjoy significant support inside Pakistan due to which the terrorist group still carrying out across the border in Afghanistan, a top NATO commander has said.

General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the second in command in the Haqqani Network, he said, is effectively driving the Taliban today.

"We still see that there is a significant support, or at least provision of safe haven to Haqqani network (in Pakistan)," Pavel told Defense Writers Group yesterday.

A number of high profile attacks in Afghanistan in the last couple of months were delivered by the Haqqani network, General Pavel said.

General Pavel has been Chairman of the NATO Military Committee since June 2015.

As such he said Pakistan has a very important role to play in the Afghan peace process.

That means creating the conditions where all opposing forces will see their chance at the negotiating table rather than on battlefield, he said.