Clinton calls for effective efforts to curb Taliban advances in Pakistan

Source: Xinhua | 04-23-2009 08:27

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concerns about the development of Taliban militants in Pakistan on Wednesday, calling for effective efforts to curb the insurgents advance in the war-torn country.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before  the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the foreign  policies of President Barack Obama administration on the  Capitol Hill in Washington, April 22, 2009.  (Xinhua/Zhang Yan)

Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, Clinton said that the U.S. government believes Pakistani government shares U.S. goals in defeating terrorism.

However, she criticized Pakistani authorities for having made a peace deal that allows militants in Pakistan's northwest to impose Islamic law in exchange for a cease-fire with Taliban insurgents.

"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists," she said, urging Pakistan's government and Pakistanis at home and abroad to "speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding more and more territory to the insurgents."

It was reported that Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat valley are stretching out to the region just 110 kilometers from the capital Islamabad, in a bid to broaden their control.