In lengthy talks, US presses Pakistan on Haqqanis

NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Pakistan in 3-1/2 hours of talks on Sunday to attack the Haqqani network militant group Washington blames for a recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul, a senior US official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the issue of counterterrorism in general and the Haqqani network in particular were the first and last topics discussed by Clinton and Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.

"Obviously the issue of counterterrorism was both the first issue and the last issue on their agenda," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters, describing the meeting as "very substantial, very candid."

A second senior US official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said it had always been Clinton's plan to have two to three hours of talks with Khar to discuss US-Pakistan relations, which are marked by deep distrust.

"The attacks in Kabul on the 13th of September changed the nature of the meeting," he said. "The issue of counterterrorism and particularly the issue of the Haqqani network was ... the first thing on the secretary's agenda and also the last."

Copyright Reuters, 2011