September 24, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 23, 1429

NEW YORK, Sept 23: US President George W. Bush has assured Pakistan that his country will respect the sovereignty of this allied nation while targeting insurgent holdouts along the Afghan border, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on Tuesday.

Briefing journalists on Mr Bush’s meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari earlier on Tuesday, Ms Rehman said the talks focused on economic ties, promoting democracy in Pakistan and on security issues.

But she did not say if Mr Zardari sought and received assurance from the US president that US troops will no more enter Pakistan while pursuing insurgents, as they did earlier this month.

She also did not say if Mr Bush agreed to stop missile attacks by US Drones inside Fata.

Mr Bush, who also had mentioned Pakistan’s concerns over violations of its territory by US forces in Fata, told President Zardari that “we understand your concerns on Pakistan’s sovereignty and we will respect them,” the minister said.Ms Rehman quoted Mr Bush as telling the president that the US was “fully behind the democratic transition in Pakistan.”

“This was the first meeting between the two presidents and it went very well,” said Ms Rehman. “Good atmospheric and very strong personal chemistry between the two leaders.”

Senior Pakistani and US officials and ministers also participated in this 30-minute meeting while the two leaders also met separately, she said.

Ms Rehman said that America’s ties with Pakistan had changed drastically since the installation of an elected government in Pakistan.

“It is no more a military to military relationship alone,” she said. “Other institutions are involved as well.”

The minister said that the two leaders also reviewed some of the issues discussed during Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s visit to Washington in July.

Ms Rehman said that US concerns over ISI’s alleged role in helping militants in Fata did not come up during the Bush-Zardari meeting.

“The president assured Mr Bush that when there is any issue on the pursuit of Al Qaeda and Taliban militants, they should share the intelligence with us. We shall hunt them out,” she said.

Mr Zardari, according to the minister, had earlier told US officials that drone attacks in Fata were “unhelpful to our aim of fighting terrorism.”

She said the Americans understood Pakistan’s concerns and were willing to cooperate.

The minister said that President Zardari will raise the issue of a UN-led probe into Benazir Bhutto’s assassination when he addresses the General Assembly on Sept 25.

Ms Rehman said that in a separate meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr Zardari invited him to visit Pakistan and he accepted the invitation.

“Pakistani and French foreign ministers will meet later this week to finalise the visit,” she said.