Bush, Gilani agree to fight 'terrorism'

US President George W. Bush and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday pledged at their first meeting to combat "terrorism", but gave no public indication of a future joint policy.
Washington has been concerned by the change in policy since the Pakistani coalition government was formed six weeks ago and began talks with the Taliban, whom US and Nato troops are fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The Taliban, driven from power by a US invasion in 2001, is also active on the border tribal zone which also operates as a rear base for the conflict in Afghanistan and where the Pakistani army has fought the hardline Islamists.
Bush only indirectly raised US unease saying that he and Gilani held a "very candid discussion" and that he had suggested that Washington and Islamabad could productively cooperate on economic matters.
"A population that has got hope as a result of being able to find work, is a population that is going to make it harder for extremists and terrorists to find safe haven," he added.
Gilani, who is also in Egypt for a World Economic Forum meeting, described terrorism and extremism as "the biggest threat to the world" and recalled that his own party leader, Benazir Bhutto, has been killed in an attack in December.
Pakistan, he said, was committed to fight terrorism and extremism but he also reminded the US president that his government had been democratically elected and "there's a change for the system."
"And I've been unanimously elected as the prime minister of Pakistan; that's the first time in the history of Pakistan."
On Saturday, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, returned home safely after being held for 96 days by suspected Taliban militants.
The ambassador's recovery comes amid recent headway in peace talks between the Pakistani Taliban and Gilani's coalition government, which denied any deal was struck to get the envoy back.