ISLAMABAD, March 21: New CIA chief Leon Panetta on Saturday held high-level talks on a major review of US strategy in the war against Taliban militants in South Asia, an official said.

Panetta held talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari.

“It is his first visit as head of the CIA to the region, so he is looking to see what Pakistan is doing and how Pakistan views the ongoing review by the US administration,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

Panetta also held talks with Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the director-general of ISI.

The US embassy in Islamabad was not immediately reachable for comment.

US President Barack Obama has ordered a top-to-bottom review of his war policy in Afghanistan. Washington has declared Pakistan an integral part of its fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists in the region.

The CIA chief held talks on Thursday in India, where an official said discussions focused on New Delhi’s security concerns over Pakistan and Afghanistan, particularly in the wake of November’s Mumbai attacks.

The United States is concerned that political turmoil in Pakistan is distracting its government and army from combating Taliban insurgents threatening the stability of the nuclear-armed country and the surrounding region.

In a meeting with the CIA chief on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stressed the need to resolve his country’s 60-year dispute with India over the Kashmir region so that Pakistan can “singularly focus its attention in eradicating the menaces of extremism and terrorism,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Panetta expressed satisfaction with bilateral cooperation and said Washington was urgently lining up more economic assistance for Pakistan as well as equipment and training for its security forces, it said.

US officials say the missile attacks have killed several senior figures in Al Qaeda, which Washington worries is plotting new Sept 11-style attacks in the West, and have significantly weakened the terror network’s organisation.

Pakistan protests the strikes, arguing that they kill too many civilians, stoke anti-American sentiment and undermine the government’s own efforts to neutralise extremists.

The New York Times reported this past week that US officials are weighing extending the missile strikes into Balochistan province in pursuit of Taliban leaders who have moved south in search of safety.—AP
Tags: