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‘US working with Pakistan in good spirit’

WASHINGTON: The White House is working in ‘co-operative spirit’ with Pakistan in the war against terrorism, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said on Monday.

Perino reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to support Islamabad in its economic development, but declined to comment on a question regarding unilateral US military strikes inside Pakistan.

“We have had many officials go to Pakistan, and we are working in a co-operative spirit with them to try to rid them of the terrorists, a threat that threatens the innocent Pakistanis, the region and certainly us here in America, so we continue to work with them,” the White House press secretary said.

When asked to comment on US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General David Petraeus’ current visit to Islamabad and the Pakistani government’s emphatic call for halting unilateral US military incursions into its territory, she said, “Dangerous people with dangerous weapons have to be either reconciled or dealt with in another way, so that is what Gen Petraeus is there to talk to them about.”

Perino refused to address the issue of unilateral US missile strikes directly but remarked the Pakistanis “have a lot of issues on their plate from terrorists to their economy”.

The spokeswoman said the Pakistani leadership recognised the challenges of terrorism and “that is something we are going to continue to have to work with them on and the next president is going to have to work with them on it too. This is not a problem that is going to go away instantly”. app

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