Pakistan's president promised to work with the United States to "eradicate" the militant Haqqani network, a pledge made during a meeting with visiting American congressmen, according to one of the lawmakers.
But the head of the Homeland Security delegation, Michael McCaul, downplayed the significance of the remarks, saying it was unclear whether President Asif Ali Zardari had the power to make good on his pledge, given the influence of the military in Pakistan.
According to McCaul, Zardari also appeared to brush off threats that US aid spending to Pakistan could be significantly cut if Islamabad did not do more to squeeze insurgents like the Haqqanis, who are based in northwest Pakistan but attack US and Afghan troops in Afghanistan.
"I think he thinks it's a given that we are going to continue the aid, but I tried to tell him that it's in jeopardy," McCaul, a Republican congressman from Texas, said of Zardari.
"He said, 'I appreciate your assistance, but it's trade more than aid that I need.'"
McCaul and the visiting lawmakers met with Zardari in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Tuesday, and revealed details of his conversation later the same day.
Relations between the United States and Pakistan have plummeted over the last year following the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor and the American unilateral raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.
