The United States Tuesday pressed Pakistan to confront Taliban militants whose influence is spreading in the nuclear-armed country but said it solidly supports Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Reuters reported.
"Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders," Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in prepared congressional testimony.
U.S. President Barack Obama meets the Afghan and Pakistani presidents in Washington Wednesday for talks expected to focus on fighting the Taliban's insurgency in Afghanistan as well as its growing influence in neighboring Pakistan.
The three-way talks aim to promote cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which Taliban militants use as a base to attack Afghan targets, but have been overshadowed by U.S. concerns about Pakistan's stability.
U.S. officials are worried about the strength of Pakistan's Taliban militants, who have advanced beyond a stronghold in the Swat valley, to Buner valley, 60 miles northwest of the capital, Islamabad.
Pakistani security forces launched an offensive to expel militants from Buner and another district on April 26. About 180 militants have been killed, according to the military, although there has been no independent confirmation.
Hundreds of people fled the Swat valley's main town Tuesday after a Pakistani official warned of possible fresh fighting between government forces and the militants.
The Pakistani government offensive follows criticism by American officials, lawmakers and analysts who accuse Zardari of having done too little to undercut the Taliban.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taliban and raised the specter of militants seizing its nuclear arsenal. Obama later played down the latter fear.
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