Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will continue "frank" talks with Pakistani officials Friday, a day after urging the nation's prime minister to strengthen efforts to combat terrorism, senior State Department officials said.
CIA chief David Petraeus and other military officials were part of the meeting with Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday night.
Gilani characterized the meeting as "cordial and frank."
"Disagreements between the coalition partners in the war on terror should not undermine the strategic relationship which is so vital for the promotion of mutual interests of the two countries," Gilani said in a statement.
Before going to Pakistan, Clinton had said she planned to urge Pakistani leaders to step up efforts to target terror groups."We intend to push the Pakistanis very hard," Clinton said Thursday, calling it a "time for clarity."
The United States, she said, knows the Haqqani terrorist network operates out of havens in Pakistan.
"Our message is very clear: We're going to be fighting, we're going to be talking, we're going to be building," she said. "And they can either be helping or hindering. But we are not going to stop our efforts to create a strong foundation for an Afghanistan free from interference, violent conflict and one that has a chance to chart its own future."
Clinton is scheduled to meet with President Asif Ali Zardari and others Friday
NATO and U.S. officials have said recently that they are seeing a marked increase in infiltration into Afghanistan from Pakistan by the militant Haqqani network.
Before going to Pakistan, Clinton stopped in Afghanistan to meet with President Hamid Karzai. Her visit to Afghanistan followed a stop in Libya.
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