Rice: Pakistan committed to war on terror

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that she believes
Pakistan’s leaders are “very committed” to fighting terror.

Rice, who is in Pakistan to help ease tensions between that country and
India in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, met with President Asif
Ali Zardari and other members of the Pakistani government.

{mosads}“In all of my meetings, I have found a Pakistani government that is
focused on the threat and that understands its responsibilities to respond to
terrorism and extremism wherever it’s found,” Rice told reporters at a news
conference.

“We talked at some length about the attack on Mumbai and about the importance
of Pakistan taking its responsibility to deal with those who may use Pakistani
territory even if they are non-state actors,” she added. “And I found a
Pakistani leadership that is very focused and, I think, very committed … to
acting.”

The historically volatile relationship between Pakistan and India was
shaken further by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, with many in India blaming
Pakistan.

However, the U.S. has stressed there is no evidence linking Pakistan’s
government to the attack and President Bush dispatched Rice to ensure that the
situation between the two nuclear powers does not escalate.

The Pakistani government “does not in any way want to be associated
with terrorist elements, and is indeed fighting to root them out wherever they
find them,” Rice said.

She added that the two countries are dealing with the crisis in a
reasonable way.

“I hope that they will keep the lines of communication open. It’s a
difficult time,” she said. “But I do want to just note that, when this incident
happened, relations between India and Pakistan had improved considerably.”