Top US General confers with Pakistani leaders

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Jan 20 (PTI) A top US General has asked
Pakistan that it was in its interest to deal with internal
problems, including the fallout of Mumbai terror attacks and
indicated a step up in military assistance to deal with
militants active on the borders with Afghanistan.

Gen David Petraeus, the Commander of US forces in
Afghanistan and Iraq, who arrived here this morning on a
one-day visit, met President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

Petraeus told them that "it was in the interest of all
countries that Pakistan should succeed in dealing with its
internal problems, including the fallout of the Mumbai terror
attacks."

He discussed the measures taken by Islamabad in the wake
of the Mumbai attacks, including arrests made by Pakistani
authorities, during his meetings.

"We discussed the actions that Pakistan has taken in
following up on the investigation and the recent arrests
(made) in the wake of the Mumbai attacks and the steps they
have taken to deal with that situation," he said in a brief
statement to the media.

"It is clearly in the interest of all countries involved
that Pakistan succeeds in dealing with its internal problems,"
his statement added.

Petraeus, making his second visit to Islamabad since he
was appointed chief of the US Central Command last year, also
discussed ways in which America and the international
community could increase assistance for Pakistan's fight
against extremists in the NWFP, tribal and other areas.

Such assistance, he said, is necessary as Pakistan's
democratic government "gets established and undertakes the
difficult decisions that it has recently reached to be in
compliance" with a bailout package from the International
Monetary Fund.

Petraeus also discussed coordination and cooperation
between US forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistani military.
"Troops in Pakistan and Afghanistan have to take
"coordinated actions" as militants move back and forth across
the border and cause problems in both countries," he said.

The American commander travelled to Pakistan after
visiting the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, where he said his talks had
focussed on reaching agreements on opening new land routes for
transporting supplies to US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Observers said the US has been looking for alternate
supply routes to Afghanistan following a surge in attacks on
supply convoys headed for Afghanistan through the Khyber pass.

Petraeus said, the US needed multiple supply routes into
north Afghanistan due to a proposed increase in activities.

Besides Zardari and Gilani, Petraeus also met the
powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

A statement issued by the presidency said Zardari and
Petraeus discussed regional security matters. TV channels
quoted official sources as saying that Zardari told the US
commander that Pakistan had exercised restraint despite
"provocative statements" from India in the wake of the Mumbai
incident.

Zardari also reportedly said that Pakistan reserved the
right to defend itself in the face of any aggression. He also
outlined the steps Pakistan had taken in the wake of the
Mumbai attacks and said the findings of the country's probe
into the incident will be shared with India. PTI