President Asif Ali Zardari vowed on Thursday not to allow anybody to challenge the government's writ or run a parallel government in any part of the country, and said the government is aware of the problems emanating from extremism and terrorism. The pledge came during talks with US president's special envoy Richard Holbrooke, who had called the president over the telephone. Zardari and Holbrooke discussed the threat of increasing Taliban influence in Pakistan.
Sources said the call was prompted by US fears that Pakistan was not realising the threat posed by the Taliban -- who, Washington believes, have exploited the peace deal in Swat to increase their control to Bunner district.
The call by the US special representative coincided with a two-day visit by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, who has held talks with the military leadership on the Taliban threat.
Meanwhile, the government issued a brief statement saying that Holbrooke discussed with President Zardari the situation in the region and Zardari's visit to the US early next month to attend a trilateral meeting.
According to a private TV channel, Zardari told Holbrooke that Pakistan had been a frontline state in the war on terror, and the international community must understand Islamabad's problems and assist it. Holbrook said the US would not isolate Pakistan, and vowed to jointly defeat terrorism and extremism.