Islamabad: US President George W Bush has asked his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani to work jointly to combat terrorism in the region, a leading Pakistan daily reported today.

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas in north-west Pakistan, which remain a hot bed for Taliban militants, also figured in the talks between US President and Gilani, a White House official said while briefing newsmen on the meetings Bush held with the two leaders in Egypt last week.

"Well, the president's message has remained consistent, that we have to work with our allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan to confront the dangers that we all face mutually," Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel said when asked what message Bush conveyed to the two leaders.

The official Voice of America radio had also reported that US conveyed its opposition to peace talks with tribal militants in NWFP, initiated by the new government in Pakistan at the Bush-Gilani meeting.

The two leaders had not publicly addressed the issue while speaking to reporters after their talks, Dawn newspaper said. Earlier transcripts released by the White House indicated that the Bush-Gilani talks also focused on insurgency in the tribal areas.

Referring to a US National Intelligence Estimate, released last year, Stanzel said it talked at length about "our concerns with terrorism taking root" in the Pakistan's FATA areas bordering Afghanistan.

Talking about the meetings on sidelines of the World Economic Forum, the White House official noted that the three nations agreed to continue working together.
Source : PTI