Pakistan: Obama pressure hurting war effort

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - US President Barack Obama's warning to Islamabad over suspected ties to militants will hurt efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and fuel anti-Americanism, the chairman of Pakistan's Senate Foreign Affairs Committee said on Friday.

Pakistan is seen as critical to bringing peace to neighboring Afghanistan, but the United States has failed to persuade it to go after militant groups it says cross the border to attack Western forces in Afghanistan.

"This is not helping either the United States, Afghanistan or Pakistan," Salim Saifullah told Reuters. "There will be pressure on the (Pakistan) government to get out of this war," he said, referring to the US war on militancy.