Islamabad, Aug. 28 (ANI): The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad has reiterated a statement issued by a spokesman for U. S. forces in Afghanistan, saying the assertions made in an article in a Pakistani newspaper regarding U.S. rapprochement with the Haqqani Network were categorically false.

According to the Daily Times, the spokesman, Brigadier General Stephen Twitty, had said in his statement, Assertions made in an article today in The Express Tribune that the United States is willing to cede Afghan territory as part of a rapprochement with the Haqqani network and that the U.S. sees the Haqqani network playing an '...important role in the future political dispensation of Afghanistan', are categorically false.

These comments, attributed to 'a senior American military official' are inconsistent with U.S. policy. Further, only the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has the authority to take political steps on behalf of the Afghan people, the spokesman maintained.

The newspaper report had stated that the U.S. would hand over the control of three Afghan provinces to the Haqqanis if they agreed to withdraw their support for the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan. (ANI)