The United States has said that it is pleased with the success of Pakistan army against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Southern Waziristan and reiterated that it would continue to support such efforts to combat terrorism.
The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Pakistan to expand and reorient its fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda and wants its army to pursue the militants into north Waziristan.
The United States on Thursday said that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba was as dangerous as Taliban and Al-Qaeda with which it was working in close coordination and that Pakistan has been asked to deny it a foothold in that country.
"We should not underestimate the Taliban and Al-Qaeda nor fight terrorism with any less military and political determination than in the immediate post-2001 days after terrorist attacks on the United States," India's UN Ambassador Nirupam Sen told the Security Council on Wednesday.
A force of about 700 US and Afghan troops flown into the area by Black Hawk helicopters seized the mountainous high ground in Kunar provinces, Marwara districts and launched a swoop pre-dawn on Sunday on unsuspecting 200 insurgents camped in the area.
Indian lawmakers have warned US that withdrawing troops from war-ravaged Afghanistan from July next year without defeating Taliban and Al Qaeda would be devastating for the region as well as for America. Once US forces withdraws from Afghanistan, the entire region including parts of Pakistan would emerge as a more strong safe haven for the terrorists and it would considered as a victory for their ideology.
Noting that the Al Qaeda and the Taliban have now large presence in Pakistan, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday said that in the last nine months Islamabad has increased its commitment in the fight against terrorism, but the Obama administration is not "satisfied."
In a pessimistic assessment of the Afghan war, a top US military official said on Wednesday that after years of neglect, America is basically "starting over" its battle against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, whose alliance is now stronger than ever.
Haji Omar Khan, a lieutenant of Afghan Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, was killed when two missiles slammed into a suspected militant training camp near Ladha town in South Waziristan close to the Afghan border early on Monday morning, local TV channels reported.
The United States Senate has approved the Department of Defence Authorization bill according to which the US military assistance to Pakistan can be used only for its fight against the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
14 people, including three women, were killed and 20 others injured in missile strikes by suspected unmanned US drones on a seminary linked to top Taliban Commander Jalaluddin Haqqani in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region on Monday.
The US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces are all set to roll out an "intensive 18-month" ground campaign in Afghanistan to stamp out Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, top US generals have said warning the insurgents that Marjah offensive was just the start.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quershi has asked the US to help Islamabad fight the Taliban, saying his government is "very determined to eliminate sanctuaries of the extremists on its soil".
As part of efforts to convince Pakistan to abandon its policy of using extremist elements as a strategic tool, the US has warned it that there is "no good terrorist" whom it can count on and asked it to take more steps against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants.
With 80 percent of US casualties in Afghanistan caused by roadside bombs planted by Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, the Pentagon is creating a department-wide task force to find ways to counter the menace.
After the recent suicide attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas, which left at least 100 people dead, the Pakistan army, with US help, is reportedly set for a major military offensive in the area.
The drone fired three missiles at Karikot village in South Waziristan, official sources were quoted as saying by TV channels.
United States President George W Bush has secretly given the go ahead to American special forces to carry out ground attacks inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the country's government.American officials were quoted as saying that they will notify Pakistan when they conduct limited ground attacks like the Special Operations raid last Wednesday in a Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, but that they will not ask for its permission.
Terrorism was a serious threat to Pakistan's peace, security and development, said Musharraf.
Minister of State for Information Tariq Azim told private Geo television channel that the condition was ripe for emergency and the government is seriously considering the measure, which however has not been imposed so far.
The United States said on Monday that it is aware of the fact that the Taliban and Al Qaeda would continue targeting Washington and its allies and stressed for a unified approach to deal with such activities.
In the second major strike in the last four days, American drones on Monday targeted a Taliban hideout in Pakistan's restive Kurram tribal region, killing at least 15 people and wounding several others. The drone fired two missiles at the hideout, where a meeting of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was being held, TV channels reported. There was no official word on the incident. This was the first such attack in Kurram Agency.
The new civilian and military strategy in Afghanistan, which was endorsed at the NATO meeting, would be incomplete without the full co-operation of surrounding states including Pakistan, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on the last day of his four-day visit to China.
Significantly the meeting of Pakistan's envoys included its Ambassador from Iran, which according to recent reports has begun building a concrete wall along its border crossings.
The American troops have take a recourse to existing mechanism to discuss and address the issues, relating to law and order on border areas
Commander of the Task Force in Afghanistan Major General David Rodriguez also said the Taliban in Afghanistan probably will not stage a spring offensive in the volatile eastern region bordering Pakistan.
Pakistan, which recently witnessed a series of suicide attacks by pro-Taliban and al Qaeda militants, is the most dangerous country in the world and has become a safe haven for terrorists, says a report. "Pak has everything Osama bin Laden could ask for: political instability, a trusted network of radical Islamists, an abundance of angry anti-Western recruits, secluded training areas and security services that don't always do what they're supposed to do," says the magazine.
Under pressure from the US, President Asif Ali Zardari today said Pakistan is ready to shift some of its troops from the Indian border to its western frontier to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists. The US has been pressing Pakistan to step up its offensive against the Taliban but Islamabad has been reluctant to move troops from the eastern border as it considers India as its main threat.
Officials said unidentified men attacked a security check-post on Friday night near Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, injuring security personnel.
'Terror is a legitimate threat. It is a threat that comes from Al-Qaeda and those organisations that have morphed off of Al-Qaeda, but there are other interests we have beyond merely -- for example, the situation in the Middle East is not a global war on terror. But it matters to us mightily whether or not we end up with an accommodation between the Israelis and the Palestinians,' he said.
The country's volatile tribal areas were turned into virtual killing fields in three different suicide attacks.
Pakistan represents 'strategic depth' in Mullah Omar's war with the US, then a staging camp for the conquest of India.
Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto said she does not blame the government for the terrorist attack on her homecoming parade in Karachi.
Vajpayee is understood to have extended India's continued support to the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
A US congressional paper says the recent arrest of eleven men in Virginia, allegedly connected with the Lashkar, raises the prospects of a new terrorist threat in the US.
At least 6 militants, including foreigners, were killed and 3 others injured on Tuesday in a United States drone attack in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region.
Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud was among six militants killed in a US drone strike on Friday in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region.
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