WASHINGTON, March 29: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that the United States and Pakistan should hold discussions to decide how to tackle the problem of militancy in the tribal areas.

“I think we will be interested in conversations with the new government as to how to address this part of Pakistan where, clearly, terrorism is a really big problem,” she said.

In an interview to The Washington Times, Ms Rice indicated a slight change in US attitude towards engaging the militants. Instead of an outright rejection, as it did in the past, Ms Rice signalled a desire to listen to the Pakistanis how they plan approach the issue.

Commenting on media reports that Pakistans new government wants to engage militants hiding in the tribal area in a dialogue to end the conflict, Ms Rice cautioned: “There is experience with the effort of the Musharraf government to have a pact with them. It did not work out.”