Obama holds talks with Zardari and Karzai

Obama holds talks with Zardari and Karzai
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: May 6 2009 09:22 | Last updated: May 7 2009 09:30
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84b2f7c6-3a13-11de-8a2d-00144feabdc0.html


Islamabad on Thursday intensified attacks against Taliban militants in the northern Swat valley after Barack Obama, US president, welcomed the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to the White House.

Thousands of people took advantage of a break in a curfew in Swat on Thursday to get out of the region as government aircraft attacked Taliban positions. United Nations officials said the campaign against the Islamic militants in Swat had prompted 100,000 civilians to flee the area over the past two days. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a senior official in North West Frontier Province, where Swat is located, warned that 500,000 people might flee the conflict.

Standing alongside Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, and Hamid Karzai, the Afghan leader on Wednesday, Mr Obama said events over the past month since he had unveiled a new strategy for the region had underscored that the security of all three countries was linked.

“Al-Qaeda and its allies have taken more lives in Pakistan and Afghanistan and have continued to challenge the democratically elected governments,” Mr Obama said. “Meanwhile, al-Qaeda plots against the American people and people around the world from these safe havens along the border.”

Mr Obama said the US would also work to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan following claims by the government in Kabul that American air strikes this week had killed more than 100 civilians. If accurate, it would be the worst incidence of civilian casualties since the October 2001 invasion.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said many Afghans had died in the strikes in Farah province. Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, on Wednesday said that the US “deeply, deeply regrets that loss”.

Before the trilateral meeting, Mr Zardari said Pakistan would work with Afghanistan to clamp down on militants operating in the tribal border areas. Borrowing language that Mr Obama used when releasing his strategy, he said Pakistan would “stand with our brother Karzai and the people of Afghanistan against this common threat ... which I have called a cancer”.

Mrs Clinton described as “an important milestone” a new trade pact that the US had worked with both countries to approve.

Pakistani officials said the government had decided to block the advance of the Taliban beyond Swat and force them out of cities in the region.

Washington has grown extremely concerned in recent weeks as the Islamic militants moved into the region of Buner, which is only 100km from Islamabad, the capital.

“Once they are out of cities, they will be confined to the mountainous terrain,” said one official. “At least then the Taliban will present far less of a threat to communities in the main cities of Swat.”

Pakistan has in the past sought to allay western concerns by mounting short-lived offensives. A western diplomat said that this time Islamabad did seem to appreciate the need to halt the militants’ advance.