Obama, Zardari agree on 'active engagement'

US President Barack Obama and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari agreed Wednesday to embark on a policy of "active engagement" to turn the tide in the war on extremism in South Asia.
The new US president, who has called for a joint effort to eradicate al-Qaeda safe havens in both Afghanistan and the border region with Pakistan, telephoned Zardari on Wednesday for the first time since taking office.
The two leaders conferred as Obama's regional troubleshooter, Richard Holbrooke, pressed talks with Pakistan's military and civilian leaders as part of a major US policy review, seven years into the US-led "war on terror".
Obama and Zardari "agreed to start an active engagement for the resolution of problems facing our region through a holistic strategy," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan has called for a new strategy to combat extremism based on dialogue with Washington and urged a rethink of US military action on its soil.
Zardari's weak civilian government has voiced fierce opposition to suspected US missile strikes against militant hideouts here, saying they are a violation of sovereignty that could spark a backlash in the nuclear-armed Muslim nation.
Cash-strapped Pakistan, which has been a key US ally since the September 11, 2001 attacks, wants military and civilian aid to combat Islamist militants who have killed more than 1,500 people in the last 20 months.
"Both leaders underscored a need for a joint strategy to bring peace and security to the region," said the foreign ministry.
Pakistan's rugged tribal regions have been wracked by violence since becoming a stronghold for hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels who fled across the border to escape the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
The area has been at the heart of strained relations between Islamabad and Washington, which has accused ally Pakistan of not doing enough to stop militants from attacking international troops across the border.
Holbrooke, who has been tasked with recrafting US policy in South Asia, was briefed by military commanders Wednesday on the fight against extremists in the border areas with Afghanistan during a visit to northwest Pakistan.
"Holbrooke met the top military commander for the northwestern region, Lieutenant General Masood Aslam, and attended a briefing on security issues after arrival in Peshawar," a military official said, requesting anonymity.