U.S. commander discusses security with Pakistani leaders

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- General David H. Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, held talks on Monday with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and discussed security matters, officials said.

Petraeus arrived in Pakistan Sunday night for the first time after the Obama administration announced the new Afghan strategy.

Accompanied by Michael Vickers, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, Petraeus met Kayani at the General Headquarters of Pakistan Army in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, an army statement said.

The visiting dignitaries remained with the Chief of Army Staff for some time and discussed matters of professional interest, it said.

Ahead of the visit, the central command chief urged Pakistan to step up pressure on the Afghan Taliban.

Speaking at a security conference in Bahrain, Petraeus praised Pakistan's recent offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, but said it was mainly aimed at Pakistani groups, not Afghans.

U.S officials say that the Afghan Taliban have used safe areas inside Pakistan to base themselves and launch cross-border attacks.

But Pakistan said it was cracking down on all militants, and that over 600 had been killed near the Afghan border in recent months.

Petraeus, the man in overall charge of U.S. military strategy in the region, said that to make significant progress in Afghanistan "it would be very helpful if additional pressure could be put [by Pakistan] on the leadership of the elements that are causing problems in Afghanistan."