Bush says Pakistan strong ally, will visit in March

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush praised
Pakistan as a close ally in fighting terrorism and said on
Tuesday that he would visit the country and its neighbor India
in March.

Bush and Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who met at
the White House, said they were united in fighting terrorism,
but they did not directly comment on a recent U.S. airstrike in
Pakistan that caused an uproar.

“I think the relationship with Pakistan is a vital
relationship for the United States,” Bush said. “We’re working
closely to defeat the terrorists who would like to harm America
and harm Pakistan.”

The U.S. airstrike on January 13 targeted Ayman al-Zawahri,
deputy to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in the remote Bajaur
tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, according to
American officials.

Pakistani intelligence officials say Zawahri was not there
at the time of the strike, but that at least four al Qaeda
figures, including a bomb expert, were killed.

The attack prompted Pakistan to lodge a formal protest with
Washington and sparked anti-U.S. demonstrations in several
Pakistan cities and towns.

Bush has not publicly commented on the air attack, but
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said Washington
assured Islamabad it would not act against Pakistan’s
interests.

Bush and Aziz showed no signs of acrimony and affirmed the
two countries’ close relationship in trying to combat
terrorism.

“Terrorism knows no borders,” Aziz said. “So our coalition
with the United States in fighting terrorism is very important
to all of the world and all of civil society.

“We discussed the war against terror and the need for
closer communication and coordination to take this effort
forward,” he told reporters after meeting Bush.

“We are looking forward to President Bush’s visit to
Pakistan to carry this dialogue forward.”

U.S. officials believe bin Laden and Zawahri are hiding
along the rugged border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

An audiotape purported to be of bin Laden that aired last
week warned that al Qaeda was preparing attacks in the United
States but was open to a conditional truce with Americans.

Bush and Aziz said they discussed trade, nuclear energy,
defense cooperation and the response to the October 8
earthquake in Pakistan that killed about 74,000 people and left
about 3 million homeless.

“A sense of caring and sharing always builds a better
relationship between countries and that’s what we are seeing
between Pakistan and the United States,” said Aziz.