Pakistan: President Requests Foreign Support

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan's president called Tuesday for foreign allies to provide more support _ not more troops _ to help win the battle against extremist militias along its volatile border with Afghanistan.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said his country's forces, together with the Afghan military, could do the fighting themselves if given the right international support.

The comments come ahead of an expected influx of 20,000 American troops into Afghanistan to combat a Taliban insurgency that has sent violence skyrocketing in the last two years.

On his first official visit to Afghanistan since taking office in September, Zardari also discussed trade partnerships with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"We and my brother Karzai, we are going to fight them. And to the world we say, 'Help us. We can fight. We can look out for ourselves. We want to win. We have the strength. All we need is the support. Given the proper support, we can do the job better and cheaper and easier than you can do.' "

Pakistan and Afghanistan are dependent on each other for any long-lasting peace. Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters operate on both sides of the hard-to-police Afghan-Pakistan border, sometimes seeking sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas to launch attacks into Afghanistan, or within Pakistan.

Afghanistan's war effort also depends heavily on supplies trucked in across mountain passes from Pakistan.

Though neither the Pakistan nor Afghan governments have strong control over the border area, the two presidents said they have made progress in working together against the extremists.

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"We have a much better understanding between our two governments, between the two presidents than ever before," Karzai said.

Recent relations between the two countries have been troubled, with Karzai criticizing the sanctuaries within Pakistan where he says insurgent Taliban and other militants regroup, rearm and train to fight in Afghanistan. He also directly accused the Pakistan government, under former President Pervez Musharraf, of supporting the Taliban.

The United States is planning to send at least another 20,000 troops into Afghanistan in early 2009, to supplement the 32,000 already in country. The new arrivals are slated for the south, where they will boost a 12,500-strong NATO force fighting a Taliban insurgency that has strengthened over the past year.

As the two presidents met, the daily drum of violence continued.

In volatile northwest Pakistan, a government official announced that Taliban militants kidnapped 11 pro-government tribal elders. The elders were captured Monday in the Mohmand tribal region, official Iqbal Khattak said. They had traveled there from neighboring Bajur tribal region to ask militants to leave the area.

Meanwhile, police said suspected militants killed a Pakistani and an Afghan in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region. The Afghan was shot while the Pakistani was hanged, police official Akram Khan said. The bodies were found with notes accusing the victims of being U.S. spies.

In Afghanistan Tuesday, an official reported that two gunmen shot a Muslim cleric to death inside a mosque in southern Kandahar city, while a NATO serviceman was killed elsewhere in the south.

The two men drove up to the mosque on a motorcycle Monday night, shot the cleric, then drove off, said Zulmai Ayubi, a spokesman for provincial Gov. Tooryalai Wesa. The attackers have not been identified.

Ayubi said it was unclear if the attackers were Taliban or people angered or insulted by the clerics in some way.

Also, a NATO serviceman was killed in a "hostile incident" in southern Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force reported. NATO didn't release any more information, such as the soldier's nationality or the precise location of the incident.

And in central Uruzgan province, police terrorism chief Gulab Khan said eight women were killed Monday when they were caught up in a clash between coalition and Taliban forces. A statement from NATO forces said they were aware of an incident in the area Monday, but only confirmed nine injured civilians. The statement did not provide further details.

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Associated Press Writer Noor Khan contributed to this story from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Comments

[Marjiecanuck]

ISI and the hawks in Pakistan military have become powerful with billions of dollars provided by Saudis and US in last 40 years. Instead of concentrating on economic progress with that money they have been busy creating a destructive force of hundreds of thousands of terrorists who are being brainwashed to destroy all non muslims and establish a Caliphate in the world. Saudis provided billions to open Madrasas and US provided billions to arm Pakistan . Now Pakistan wants to be a 'pure' champion amongst Jihadist nations in spreading Islam through terror to rest of the world. While the liberals in the western democracies and the moderate Muslims of the world keep chanting 'Islam is a religion of Peace' the true followers of Islam will be spreading terror and destruction through Islamic Jihad . Nothing short of total destruction of all Jihadis and banning of Madrasas that manufacture suicide bombers and terrorists by the thousands will keep the world safe from Islamic militants.

[Marjiecanuck]

ISI and the hawks in Pakistan military have become powerful with billions of dollars provided by Saudis and US in last 40 years. Instead of concentrating on economic progress with that money they have been busy creating a destructive force of hundreds of thousands of terrorists who are being brainwashed to destroy all non muslims and establish a Caliphate in the world. Saudis provided billions to open Madrasas and US provided billions to arm Pakistan . Now Pakistan wants to be a 'pure' champion amongst Jihadist nations in spreading Islam through terror to rest of the world. While the liberals in the western democracies and the moderate Muslims of the world keep chanting 'Islam is a religion of Peace' the true followers of Islam will be spreading terror and destruction through Islamic Jihad . Nothing short of total destruction of all Jihadis and banning of Madrasas that manufacture suicide bombers abd terrorists by the thousands will keep the world safe from Islamic militants.

[Nemo99]

Mr. 10 Percent is his nickname in pak.iland. Send them more billions, its not like we have a choice.

[Strategy]

Here is what Gener@l Pasha , Chief of ISI has to say about T@liban: Pasha is apparently adept at overcoming old divisions. However, it is worth listening closely when the Gener@l explained why he too was unwilling to apprehend the T@liban leadership, even though many claimed that T@liban leader Mull@h Om@r, for example, was in Quett@, a city where Pasha lived until a few years ago. "Shouldn"t they be allowed to think and say what they please? They believe that jih@d is their obligation. Isn"t that freedom of opinion?" he asked. A quote from http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/07-Jan-2009/I-was-ready-to-visit-Delhi-ISI-Chief/

[harriettubman]

So they can spend it like Musharaff (sp?) did?

[Omidal]

The US and other powers should demand Pakistan to abandon and scrape its nuclear weapon program to get help from us. I see no reason an unstable nations full of terrorists and fanatic should have that capability.