Washington (PTI): Republican nominee in the US presidential polls Senator John McCain has criticised his Democratic rival Barack Obama on Pakistan saying that the Illinois Senator's assertion on unilateral action has made it harder to enlist Islamabad's full support in the war on terror.

"A successful counterinsurgency requires all instruments of our national power and that military and civilian leaders work together, at all levels, under a joint plan.

"Too often in Afghanistan this is not happening. So I will appoint a highly-respected national security leader, based in the White House and reporting directly to the president, whose sole mission will be to assure victory in Afghanistan," McCain said in his Weekly Radio Broadcast.

"A special focus of our regional strategy must be Pakistan, where terrorists are known to hide. One way to root them out is to strengthen local tribes in the border areas that are willing to fight them. Senator Obama has spoken in public about taking unilateral military action in Pakistan," the GOP candidate said.

"But in trying to sound tough, he has only made it harder to enlist the full support of Pakistan in the fight against terrorists.

"In a time of war, the commander-in-chief's job doesn't get a learning curve. And if I have that privilege, I will bring to the job many years of military and political experience," Senator McCain added.