US vice president-elect in Pakistan for security talks (Roundup)

Jan 9, 2009, 13:40 GMT

Islamabad - US vice president-elect Joe Biden on Friday held talks with Pakistani leadership as he arrived in Islamabad as part of a tour of the restive South Asian region less than a fortnight before his inauguration, officials said.

Biden, who is accompanied by a congressional delegation, met Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Zardari told Biden of 'Pakistan's commitment and the measures being taken by the government in the war against militancy, extremism and terrorism,' according to an official statement.

The visit came as the relations between the countries are showing signs of strain, mainly because of increasing US drone attacks on al- Qaeda and Taliban fighters launching cross-border attacks on international forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan's ungoverned tribal region.

Such attacks have eliminated dozens of al-Qaeda operatives but Islamabad says they also cause numerous civilian casualties, fuelling public anger and undermining its efforts against terrorism.

Although the official statement made no mention of the two leaders addressing tensions between Pakistan and India in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, an informed source said 'they touched upon the issue in detail.'

The US senator also met Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and told him that 'the United States of America is positive in terms of assisting Pakistan as it is its important ally and partner.'

He has co-sponsored the Biden-Kerry-Lugar legislation for expanding socio-economic assistance of 15 billion dollars and non-military aid over the next five fiscal years besides advocating an additional 7.5 billion dollars over the subsequent five years.