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Obama urges sustained engagement with Pakistan
WASHINGTON: The United States President Barack Obama Wednesday said Washington has been encouraged by Pakistan’s recent anti-militant gains in its tribal border regions with Afghanistan.He underscored that asserting full control over historically ungoverned areas would take time and urged for continued international engagement with Islamabad and Kabul.
“I am actually encouraged by what I have seen from the Pakistani government over the last several months,” he said in a joint press conference with President Hamid Karzai at the White House.
Obama was responding to a question by an Afghan journalist, who sought to blame Pakistan for all of Afghanistan’s failures.
“But,” Obama reminded, “just as it is going to take time for Afghanistan’s economy, for example, to fully recover from 30 years of war, it is going to take some time for Pakistan even where there is a will to find a way to effectively deal with these extremists in areas that are loosely governed from Islamabad.”
The US president praised Islamabad’s anti-terrorism commitment and underlined the the vitality of sustained engagement with Pakistan towards grappling with the extremist challenge in the restive Afghan border region, reports media correspondent in the District.
“Indeed, Pakistan’s major offensive against extremist sanctuaries --- both against the leadership of al-Qaeda and its affiliates advance the security of Pakistanis, Afghans and Americans alike,” Obama said.
Courtesy www.Geo.tv