Holbrooke meets Pak prez, PM;discusses ways to deal with Qaeda

Carrying a stern message from president Barack Obama that "safe havens" to terrorists cannot be allowed in Pakistan, special US envoy Richard Holbrooke on Tuesday discussed with the leadership here ways to rein in Al-Qaeda and Taliban in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

Holbrooke, who arrived here yesterday, was told by the Pakistani leadership that the US should stop drone attacks in the country's tribal areas from Afghanistan.

The special US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan met president Asif Ali Zardari, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday.
    
There was no official word on the meetings though official sources were quoted by TV channels as saying that both Zardari and Qureshi told Holbrooke that the US should stop missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas by drones operating from Afghanistan.

Holbrooke, who is on an exploratory visit here ahead of a review of the US policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, discussed way to deal with al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the tribal region.
    
His meetings with the Pakistani leaders came hours after president Obama asserted that the US will not allow "safe havens" to be used by Al-Qaeda and Taliban in tribal areas and made it clear that Islamabad needs to act against terror.

"My bottom line is that we cannot allow al-Qaeda to operate. We cannot have those safe havens in that region," Obama said in his first press conference in Washington after assuming office on January 20.
    
The sources here were also quoted as saying that Qureshi had brought up the Kashmir issue with Holbrooke. Qureshi reportedly said that the long-standing issue needs to be resolved.
    
Zardari reportedly told Holbrooke that the US should share information on militant hideouts in the tribal areas so that Pakistani security forces could take action against them. The drone attacks, he said, were counter-productive for the
war on terror.
    
The president said that the Pakistani forces need more resources to fight militancy in the tribal areas and along the Afghan border.

Zardari also reportedly said that Pakistan had completed its probe into the Indian dossier on the Mumbai attacks and the findings would soon be shared with New Delhi.

Media reports said Holbrooke sought a "guarantee" from Pakistan that disgraced nuclear scientist, who was last week freed from house arrest after a Pakistani court declared him a "free citizen", would not be involved in further proliferation.

Zardari reportedly assured the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that Khan's movements had been restricted and he was not allowed to meet people who were not cleared by security agencies.
    
Holbrooke would also meet Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, representatives of civil society and top leaders of political parties like the opposition PML-N.

He is also expected to visit Peshawar, the capital of the troubled North West Frontier Province.