[Geo News] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that ŽŽbreakthroughŽŽ US meetings with the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan were producing ŽŽvery promising early signs.ŽŽ In an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room, Clinton gave a positive readout of her talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, before the leaders met President Barack Obama. ŽŽThis process is producing some very promising early signs,ŽŽ Clinton said, describing her talks with both leaders earlier as a ŽŽvery significant meeting, in some ways a breakthrough meeting.ŽŽ
ŽŽI am very optimistic that this process is making a difference,ŽŽ Clinton said, though she added that she was aware that a few meetings could not on their own solve the myriad of issues confronting the two nations. Obama called the three-way meetings as he pushes for a combined drive between Pakistan and Afghanistan to crush the Taliban and Al-Qaeda; Zardari seeks US military aid and a political prop-up while Karzai hopes for a purge on Taliban havens in Pakistan. The talks come amid fresh waves of deadly clashes in PakistanŽŽs Swat valley in which the military said it had killed more than 60 militants in an upsurge of fighting on Wednesday that caused tens of thousands of civilians to flee. ŽŽBoth presidents spoke very movingly about the threat and dangers of terrorism,ŽŽ Clinton said, adding she was ŽŽextremely impressedŽŽ by the candor evidenced between the two leaders and their delegations in the talks.
Obama was set to hold one-on-one talks with Zardari and Karzai before hosting a trilateral summit involving both of them. Follow-on talks with cabinet officials from all three sides were planned for Thursday. Clinton said on Wednesday she was impressed with recent efforts by Pakistan to fight extremism, following her recent harsh criticisms of its conduct. |