NEW YORK, July 12: “When Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visits Washington later this month, President Bush should offer him strong political and economic backing in exchange for a firm commitment to support Afghan-istan’s embattled government and fight Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorism in Pakistan,” the New York Times has said.

In an editorial — “Taliban’s rising tide” — on the day of Pakistan’s foreign minister’s visit to Washington, the paper said: “President Bush needs to persuade Pakistan’s leaders of that — and he needs to do it now, before Al Qaeda and the Taliban get any stronger.”

It noted that “both countries have a common and increasingly urgent interest in rolling back the power of Al Qaeda and the Taliban and working together to promote democracy and development in Pakistan”.

It observed that “Washington has made a lot of policy mistakes in Pakistan — most notably supporting Pervez Musharraf for far too long. It has forfeited most of its credibility with the Pakistani people and reinforced their belief that the fight against extremism is ‘Washington’s war’ and not also their own”.

But, the newspaper said: “Pakistan’s civilian leaders and the new military commander, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, will need to commit to fighting the extremists — for the sake of their own country’s stability — and to sending in elite units specifically trained in counter-insurgency techniques.

Local tribal leaders also need to be weaned away from the Taliban. That would only happen if Islamabad and Washington back their exhortations with substantial economic assistance.”

Pointing out that the United States had showered Pakistan with more than $7 billion in military aid over the past six years, with little of it actually being used for counter-insurgency purposes, the Times said: “This month Senators Joseph Biden and Richard Lugar planned to introduce sensible legislation that would provide up to $15 billion in aid to Pakistan over the next 10 years for economic development, health and education. Congress should move quickly to approve the aid.