Biden sees little pressure from Pakistan on Taliban

Jan 11, 2011, 12:55 GMT

Kabul - US Vice President Joseph Biden said Tuesday that little pressure from Pakistan has been observed to maintain progress made by coalition forces against insurgents in Afghanistan.

Biden arrived in Kabul on Monday to be briefed on efforts made by Afghan security forces to take the overall security responsibility of the country from the NATO-led troops by end of 2014.

'It is fair to say we have largely arrested the Taliban momentum here in some very important areas,' Biden told a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, referring to recent military gains in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

But he cautioned that the success was 'fragile and reversible,' required strengthening of local security forces and more pressure by neighboring Pakistan on Taliban fighters residing there.

'It is going to require more pressure on Taliban from Pakistani side of the border than we have been able to observe so far,' he said.

Biden is expected to travel to Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss cooperation by the Pakistani government in fighting militants in the border region between the two Islamic countries.

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