WASHINGTON: Pakistan must cooperate more fully with the United States to help wipe out Al-Qaeda, US President Barack Obama said in excerpts of a weekend interview.
In the interview with American television, Obama said the tribal territories that straddle the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan were the “epicenter of the violent extremism directed against the West… and the United States.”
“Ultimately, in order for us to eradicate the problem, to really go after Al-Qaeda… we are going to need more cooperation from Pakistan. There is no doubt about that,” Obama said in released excerpts, with the full interview to be shown on Sunday.
Islamabad is under increasing Western pressure to not only target Taliban groups attacking Pakistan, but also Al-Qaeda-linked fighters and the militants who cross over the border and target NATO-led troops in Afghanistan.
The drone attack comes as the US administration prepares to send 30,000 reinforcements in neighboring Afghanistan to try to turn the tide against a growing Taliban insurgency, which uses sanctuaries in Pakistan
