WASHINGTON, Oct 5: The United States urged Pakistan to extend its control over the tribal areas during Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s three-day official visit to Washington, says a statement issued over the weekend.

The statement, posted on the State Department’s Web site, also emphasizes the Bush administration’s concerns over a sudden resurgence of Taliban activities in these areas.

Prime Minister Jamali and US Secretary of State Colin Powell “reviewed proposals for strengthening Islamabad’s control over the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan” when they met in Washington earlier this week, the statement says.

The two allies also have affirmed their bilateral cooperation in the war against terror and the fight to stop drug trafficking, the statement said.

Mr Jamali has returned to New York after completing his official engagements in Washington. Although officially it was a three-day (Oct. 1-3) visit, the prime minister spent four days in the US capital and is scheduled to visit Chicago as well before returning home.

The prime minister met Mr Powell on Oct 2 and, according to the Pakistani side, highlighted Pakistan’s concerns over the growing arms imbalance between India and Pakistan caused by New Delhi’s recent massive defence purchases. The two sides also discussed the US request for sending troops to Iraq and the situation along the Pakistan-Afghan border, Pakistan officials said.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, however, said that during the meeting the two sides also “underscored commitments made on Sept 23 through a Letter of Agreement.”

He said that Mr Jamali and Mr Powell decided to undertake the following measures:

—Strengthen Pakistan’s control over frontier areas bordering Afghanistan;

—Continue the construction of roads in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas;

—Support law enforcement reform; and

—Provide training and equipment to develop police capacity, including the creation of a border security coordination centre.

“Pakistan and the United States have formed an important partnership in addressing a variety of narcotics control and law enforcement issues,” Mr Boucher said.

The statement added: “Over the past several years Pakistan has demonstrated its commitment to fight terrorism and crime through its efforts to address money laundering, trafficking in persons, contraband smuggling, opium poppy cultivation, and other forms of criminal activity.”