Obama wins fresh Pak, Afghan pledge against terrorism

I / Washington May 7, 2009, 11:37 IST

After some tough talking, US President Barack Obama today secured a fresh pledge from leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to "dismantle, disrupt and defeat" the al-Qaeda and Taliban while promising to make "every effort" to avoid civilian casualties in anti-insurgency operations.     

Obama met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai at the White House to forge a common strategy to deal with a resurgent Taliban and threat from al-Qaeda, whose leaders have found a safe haven in the two countries.     

The US has a stake in the future of the two countries, said Obama, who had last month expressed his "grave concern" over the situation in Pakistan describing the civilian government there as "very fragile" and lacking the capacity to deliver basic services.

After the trilateral summit today, Obama said he was "pleased" that Zardari and Karzai fully appreciated the seriousness of the threat and that they had reaffirmed their commitment to confronting it.     

"And I'm pleased that we have advanced unprecedented cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan on a bilateral basis -- and among Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States -- which will benefit all of our people," Obama told reporters.

"There's much to be done. Along the border, where insurgents often move freely, we must work together with a renewed sense of partnership to share intelligence and to coordinate our efforts to isolate, target and take out our common enemy," Obama said.     

The dismantling of terrorist network, he argued, should be matched by economic development of the region.     

This is the reason why, Obama said, his administration is proposing to triple civilian aid to Pakistan and create opportunity zones in the two countries.     

After her meetings with Zardari and Karzai, Clinton said "a lot of lip service" was paid in the past that did not translate into better lives, more safety and security and economic development for the people of Pakistan.     

"We want to know what we have agreed to, what they have agreed to, how we're going to proceed toward meeting those goals and objectives, and timetables that will be utilised to keep all of us focused on the job ahead," she said.