Washington: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has downplayed the presence of two top administration officials just at the time of government formation in Pakistan and stressed that the problems concerning FATA cannot be ignored.

Rice was commenting on the presence of the Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher in Islamabad.

"They planned that trip sometimes ago. The timing was turned out to be pretty coincidental," she said. "Given that Pakistan is an ally and a country with whom we are deepening ties, its a good thing to engage the government early. I would hope people would take it as a sign of respect that we respect the democratic process in Pakistan and we respect its outcome and we welcome its outcome," Rice told The Washington Times.

Regarding the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan, she said it is a "special problem". "Its a special problem because it has not been governed really ever. Its a special problem because the tribal ties are very deep and they are cross-border ties. We will be interested in conversations with the new government as to how to address this part of Pakistan where, clearly, terrorism is a really big problem," Rice said.

It is the assessment of most that the forces that assassinated Benazir Bhutto are associated with terrorists who operate in that area, she said. "So this is not just an American problem or an Afghan problem. This is a Pakistani problem. So how can that problem be addressed and how can we address the surrounding problems of poverty and incapacity in that region?," she asked.

Source : PTI