U.S. adviser hails Pakistani attack on militants

By Augustine Anthony
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. National Security Adviser Jim Jones on Thursday hailed Pakistani military action against militants, while Pakistan asked the United States for help to resolve a long dispute with India over the Kashmir region.
The Pakistani military is nearing the end of an offensive in the Swat valley, northwest of the capital, that was launched in early May after Taliban gains raised fears for Pakistan`s future and for the safety of its nuclear arsenal.
U.S. President Barack Obama has put Afghanistan and Pakistan at the center of his foreign policy agenda and has launched a new strategy aimed at defeating al Qaeda and stabilizing Afghanistan, where thousands of extra U.S. soldiers are arriving.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved tripling aid to Pakistan to about $1.5 billion a year for each of the next five years, as part of the U.S. plan to fight extremism with economic development.
Jones held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, a day after arriving from Afghanistan, and reaffirmed Obama`s desire to have long-term, multifaceted and strategic cooperation with Pakistan, Gilani`s office said.
"He lauded the Pakistan army`s successful operation against terrorists," Gilani`s office said in a statement.
Pakistan said it has killed about 1,600 militants in the offensive in the former tourist valley of Swat and is in the final stages of securing the region. Independent casualty figures are not available.
The army is preparing an all-out assault against Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally Baitullah Mehsud in his stronghold of South Waziristan, on the Afghan border.
The military has been launching air strikes on Mehsud`s bases for more than a week while soldiers have been securing main roads and sealing off his stronghold.
KASHMIR DISPUTE
On Tuesday, a pilotless U.S. drone aircraft killed about 70 of Mehsud`s militant followers in an air strike after a funeral for a militant killed earlier, Pakistani officials said.
Pakistan officially objects to such U.S. strikes on its territory saying they violate its sovereignty and complicate its efforts to win people over to the government side.
In their talks, Gilani also called upon the world, and especially the United States, to help resolving a decades-old dispute with India over the Kashmir region.
India broke off talks with Pakistan after militant attacks on the city of Mumbai in November. India blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants and wants Pakistan to act against them.
"The U.S. government would help in every possible way for the resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India and for resolution of the core issues," Gilani`s office cited Jones as saying.  Continued...
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