Top US officials on way to Pak to talk terror

Two top United States security officials are traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday to meet the country's civil and military leadership and press for more aggressive action against Al Qaeda-allied groups.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta and the National Security Advisor General James Jones, who are embarking on a visit to Islamabad, will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani and Inter Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha.

"In light of the failed Times Square terrorist attack and other terrorist attacks that trace to the border region, we believe that it is time to redouble our efforts with our allies in Pakistan to close this safe haven and create an environment where we and the Pakistani people can lead safe and productive lives," said National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer.

Pakistani American Faisal Shahzad, 30, has been arrested by the federal authorities on charges of plotting a blast at Times Square on May 1. The US has said the investigations implicate the Pakistani Taliban in the attack.

At least three Pakistani nationals have also been arrested in the US on charges of providing finances to Shahzad, though their exact role in the plot is yet to be ascertained.

Pakistani authorities too have made several arrests in Karachi and other parts of the country in connection with the Times Square plot.

"Officials said that Jones and Panetta intend to reiterate to the Pakistanis the importance the administration places on more aggressive military action against groups allied with the Al Qaeda in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas," The Washington Post said in a report.

It said the bombing attempt has already given rise to questions from the US Congress about Pakistan's zeal in confronting radical groups though the US administration has so far been pleased with the cooperation from Pakistan in this regard.

"A successful attack in the United States will severely undermine a bilateral relationship that is a crucial part of the administration's Afghanistan war strategy," it said.

An unnamed US official was quoted as saying that it was important that the Pakistani leadership was told about "our latest thinking on the danger to all of us from the tribal areas".

"That's very, very real," he said.