U.S. general questions Pakistan plan for militants

WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. general who recently handed over command of NATO troops in Afghanistan cast doubt on Friday on the ability of Pakistan's Frontier Corps paramilitary force to combat Islamist militants. The role of the Frontier Corps, a force drawn from local Pashtun tribes in areas bordering Afghanistan, was highlighted this week after Pakistan said a U.S. air strike killed 11 members of the force on Tuesday. Pakistan condemned the strike in strong terms while the Pentagon defended U.S. forces, saying they acted legitimately after coming under attack. The two countries agreed on Friday to set up a joint investigation into the incident. U.S. Army Gen. Dan McNeill, who stepped down earlier this month as the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, suggested the Frontier Corps was not best suited to tackle militants. "My experience is it takes well-trained, well-equipped forces -- disciplined -- to take this thing on," he said. "They're pretty much tribals themselves," he said of the Frontier Corps. "They might find it more challenging than would regular frontline, well-trained, well-equipped soldiers." McNeill also recalled two incidents in which U.S. soldiers were shot by members of the Frontier Corps. He said the whole force should not be defined by those incidents, but both Pakistan and the United States would find it "challenging" if the Frontier Corps was used extensively to fight insurgents in Pakistan. INCREASING CONCERN U.S. commanders and top officials have voiced increasing concern about militants in tribal areas of Pakistan that border Afghanistan, saying al Qaeda leaders enjoy safe haven there. Washington says the militants mount attacks in Afghanistan and then escape back into Pakistan and that some of them are also planning attacks on the United States itself. Both Pakistan and the Bush administration have said they plan to rely more on the Frontier Corps to fight insurgents in the tribal areas. The Pentagon has developed a multimillion-dollar program to train and equip the force. But the administration has faced questions about the program in Congress, with senators questioning whether the United States should be financing the corps if some elements of the Pakistani military support Taliban insurgents. McNeill also voiced doubts, shared by other Western officials, about efforts by Pakistan's new government to reach deals with tribal leaders to end militant violence in return for the withdrawal of security forces from their areas. "The history is that those peace deals have not worked," McNeill said. "I think what's missing is action to keep pressure on the insurgents." McNeill said violence in the U.S.-led eastern sector of Afghanistan was 50 percent higher in April than a year ago and much of the increase was due to a lack of pressure on militants by Pakistani forces on their side of the border. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)