Pak needs to do more on curbing Taliban: Holbrooke

On a day Taliban carried out a fresh attack near the Presidential Palace in Kabul,the US on Monday said Pakistan would have to take "more actions" to curb the activities of the extremist group.

On a day Taliban carried out a fresh attack near the Presidential Palace in Kabul,the US on Monday said Pakistan would have to take “more actions” to curb the activities of the extremist group which operates from Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke discussed the situation in these countries with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna,Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and some other top officials here,amid emphasis that India has a “tremendously important” participation in the stability in the region.

Holbrooke,who arrived here after his visits to the AF-Pak region,briefed the Indian leadership about his discussions in those countries and “solicit” its views. He later said the spread of Taliban in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) areas was the “main subject” of discussion with Pakistani leadership during his visit there.

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“Of course we have. That was the main subject of our discussion with Pakistan,” he told reporters here when asked whether he had talked to Pakistan leaders about the need to curb activities of Taliban operating out of NWFP.

“I was in Swat a few days ago and I was very impressed with the progress and they have done things in South Waziristan. But there are other issues that we have talked about,which I hope will see more actions on,” he said.

On today’s attack,he said it was the handiwork of those who are a “part of extremist groups operating in the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan and they do these desperate things all the time and India knows all this.”