Islamabad - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday held talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the city of Rawalpindi about the anticipated upsurge in the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan this spring.
Making his first visit to the country since he replaced Donald Rumsfeld as US defence chief, Gates acknowledged Pakistan's role in the war on terrorism and assured that the country would not be left
alone in the fight against Taliban, media reports said.
The sides discussed current efforts to stop Taliban movement across the border, with Musharraf reiterating earlier statements that responsibility for border control fell equally on Afghanistan and the coalition forces.
Islamabad desired a stable Afghanistan that would in turn lay the basis for sustainable peace in the region, he stressed.
Pakistan shares a 2,560-kilometre border with Afghanistan that is frequently crossed by Taliban fighters to launch strikes against international forces and their Afghan government allies.
Pakistan has come under increasing US pressure to do more against Taliban and al-Qaeda elements holed up in its mountainous tribal belt near the frontier.
The government earlier announced plans to fortify the border with selective fencing and mining, which has caused concern in Afghanistan about civilian casualties and division of local tribes living in the area.
Gates' visit followed reported admissions by US military officials that troops have fired artillery shells into Pakistani territory while engaging insurgents. Pakistan officially rejects any foreign military action on its territory.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer was due to arrive separately in Pakistan Monday for counter-insurgency and Afghan security talks with the leadership.
Addressing a security conference at the weekend in the German city of Munich, the NATO head said the military alliance could smash the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan within two years but would need to keep troops there after 2009.
More than 40,000 foreign forces including 25,000 US troops are stationed in Afghanistan. The country last year saw its bloodiest year since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, with more than 4,000 deaths, one quarter of which were civilians.
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Making his first visit to the country since he replaced Donald Rumsfeld as US defence chief, Gates acknowledged Pakistan's role in the war on terrorism and assured that the country would not be left
alone in the fight against Taliban, media reports said.
The sides discussed current efforts to stop Taliban movement across the border, with Musharraf reiterating earlier statements that responsibility for border control fell equally on Afghanistan and the coalition forces.
Islamabad desired a stable Afghanistan that would in turn lay the basis for sustainable peace in the region, he stressed.
Pakistan shares a 2,560-kilometre border with Afghanistan that is frequently crossed by Taliban fighters to launch strikes against international forces and their Afghan government allies.
Pakistan has come under increasing US pressure to do more against Taliban and al-Qaeda elements holed up in its mountainous tribal belt near the frontier.
The government earlier announced plans to fortify the border with selective fencing and mining, which has caused concern in Afghanistan about civilian casualties and division of local tribes living in the area.
Gates' visit followed reported admissions by US military officials that troops have fired artillery shells into Pakistani territory while engaging insurgents. Pakistan officially rejects any foreign military action on its territory.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer was due to arrive separately in Pakistan Monday for counter-insurgency and Afghan security talks with the leadership.
Addressing a security conference at the weekend in the German city of Munich, the NATO head said the military alliance could smash the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan within two years but would need to keep troops there after 2009.
More than 40,000 foreign forces including 25,000 US troops are stationed in Afghanistan. The country last year saw its bloodiest year since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, with more than 4,000 deaths, one quarter of which were civilians.
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