June 27, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 22, 1429

PAKISTAN’s failure to put pressure on Taliban on the border with Afghanistan is “a concern”, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told a news conference on Thursday.

A 40 per cent rise in violence in eastern Afghanistan in the first five months of the year “is a matter of concern, of real concern, and I think that one of the reasons that we’re seeing the increase ... is more people coming across the border from the frontier area,” Mr Gates said.

He said “the ability of the Taliban and other insurgents to cross that border and not being under any pressure from the Pakistani side of the border is clearly a concern”.

The issue “needs to be addressed with the Pakistan government”, Mr Gates said.—AFP