US lauds Pak's terror tackling efforts

The United States on Tuesday appreciated the increased cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, terming it as beneficial to both the countries, but refused to confirm the reported capture of a top Taliban commander.

"Pakistani push-back on extremists in their own country is beneficial not simply for us, but the Pakistanis realise that extremist threats within its own border, or just threats outside of its country were threats to their own country. And they have appropriately taken strong action," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

"...We have seen an increased amount of cooperation with them. I think we're working constructively with them, meeting with them regularly. We have a better intelligence-sharing capability," Gibbs said.

When asked about the latest developments in Pakistan, he observed that the internal threat faced by Pakistan have played a big role in 'changing their actions.'

On the arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Gibbs repeatedly refused to make any comment or even confirm his arrest. "I'm not going to get into this topic and not going to discuss any details around this. I don't think we've talked about it from this position, and we're not going to do it today," he said.

"We are no doubt prosecuting the war against the Al Qaeda and its extremist allies in a way that hasn't been seen before. I'm not going to get into details about this individual or others," Gibbs said.