`Essential to defeat terrorism in Pakistan`

US National Security Adviser General (rtd) James Jones has said his recent trip to Pak was to impress upon Islamabad that it is essential to defeat terrorism in the country.

Washington: US National Security Adviser
General (rtd) James Jones has said his recent trip to Pakistan
was to impress upon Islamabad that it is essential to defeat
terrorism in the country.

Jones along with the CIA Director Leon Panetta had
visited Islamabad early this month and met the country`s top
leadership including the President Asif Ali Zardari in the
wake of the arrest if the failed Times Square bomb suspect
Fazal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American and investigation which
revealed that the Pakistani Taliban was behind that bombing
attempt.

News reports in both Pakistan and the United States
said that the Jones-Panetta trip was to primarily put pressure
on Pakistan to do more against terrorists in the country.

"My trip was simply to underscore, at the request of
the (US) President, that we take this particular relationship
extremely seriously, that we`re very serious when we say we
have long-term -- we will make long-term commitments to
Pakistan, to help the economy, to help the revitalisation of
the infrastructure, to bring investment from not only our
business community but international investment, to help the
instruments of governance wherever possible," Jones told
reporters at the Washington Foreign Press Centre.

"But we wanted to also impress upon our friends that
it is essential that terrorism be defeated and that wherever
there are the presence of terrorists of the perception of
presence of terrorists that it`s in the interest of Pakistan
to not only repudiate the existence of those kinds of
organisations but also at the appropriate time to rid Pakistan
of that presence," said the National Security Advisor.

"We offer friendship and assistance, cooperation in
every way possible, in order to do that and in order to help
bring a better future to Pakistan. So I want to state very
clearly that this was a meeting among friends, one that we
have regularly," he said in response to a question.

The National Security Adviser said the US has
committed itself to a long- term strategy with regard to that
part of the world, including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, to
try to bring a better life to the people of the region, to try
to end terrorism in all shapes and forms directed against all
different peoples.

"We have applauded the Pakistani efforts to date with
regard to their renewed efforts that began last year, their
success in the Swat valley, their success in South Waziristan.
We have rejoiced in the trust and confidence that`s
been built between our two militarises, the increased sharing
of information and intelligence, the cooperation that we`ve
received on law-enforcement issues, the very prompt response
we got as a result of the Times Square incident," he said.

"We are now to the point where we can exchange very
direct information and very direct messages which have the --
I think the -- hopefully the benefit of adding vitality to the
relationship. So we are pleased with the progress and we hope
Pakistan is pleased with the progress," he said.

"We hope that we will continue down a successful road
so that we can get on with the idea and the concept and the
commitment that we`ve made to help Pakistan economically and
in many other ways," Jones said.

PTI

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