Centcom chief, Pakistani leader discuss security
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad,Dec 15 ,IRNA-- Commander US CENTCOM, General David H. Petraeus, here Monday held talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and discussed security matters, officials said.
General Petraeus arrived in Pakistan on Sunday night for the first time after the Obama administration announced its new Afghan strategy.
Accompanied by the US Assistant Secretary of Defence for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, Vickers, General Petraeus met General Kayani, at General Headquarters, an army statement said.
The visiting dignitaries remained with the Chief of Army Staff for some time and discussed matters of professional interest, it said.
Ahead of the visit, the CENTCOM chief urged Pakistan to step up pressure on the Afghan Taliban.
Gen Petraeus, speaking at a security conference in Bahrain, praised Pakistan's recent offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, but said it was mainly aimed at Pakistani groups, not Afghans.
The US officials say that the Afghan Taliban have used safe areas inside Pakistan to base themselves and launch cross-border attacks.
But Pakistan said it was cracking down on all militants, and that at least 22 had been killed near the Afghan border.
Gen Petraeus, the head of US Central Command and the man in overall charge of US military strategy in the region, said that to make significant progress in Afghanistan "it would be very helpful if additional pressure could be put [by Pakistan] on the leadership of the elements that are causing problems in Afghanistan".
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