Concerned over the rising Taliban insurgency in the Afghan-Pak border, US President Barack Obama is expected to do some tough talking with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on the need to take firm action to rein in the extremists and also tell Islamabad to shed its "obsession" of viewing India as a "mortal threat".
Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai arrived here to participate in the two-day trilateral summit of US, Pakistan and Afghanistan tomorrow with the spotlight firmly on fighting the Taliban in the region.
The trilateral summit is an initiative of Obama, who wants to establish his own channel of direct communication with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the prime focus of his foreign policy.
"I think he (Obama) will reiterate what he said to you guys last week," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said when asked whether Obama will make it clear to Pakistan that "there's no threat from India."
Referring to the statement made by Obama in this regard last week, Gibbs said: "I think the President spoke pretty clearly to this last week in underscoring where the threat lies in Pakistan and where it doesn't."
Obama had last week said Pakistan has started to recognise that that the "obsession" with India as the mortal threat to it has been misguided and that its biggest threat right now comes internally.
The crucial meeting on May 6 and 7 comes as Obama is pledging more troops to war-torn Afghanistan and more resources, including military aid, to the region to eliminate what he has called an international threat.
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The Obama Administration has been pressing Pakistan that they should not view India as their main threat.
"The President is concerned about the situation (in Pakistan). You've seen administration officials talk about their concern," Gibbs said.
The summit assumes significance in the backdrop of Pakistan Army launching a military operation against Taliban in three districts of Dir, Swat and Buner in the restive NWFP close to the border with Afghanistan after US officials raised alarm to the extremists coming nearer to Islamabad.
"He (Obama) will spend a lot of time on Wednesday trying to get the steps that we take moving forward right as it relates to Pakistan and Afghanistan, to finally have a regional approach, and ensure that the time that is spent and the resources that are spent go toward making a difference in this region of the world," Gibbs said.
Both Zardari and Karzai are leading a high-power delegation from their respective countries. However, Pak Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani will not accompany the President in view of the "alarming security situation" in the country.
Tomorrow, Obama would be meeting Karzai and Zardari separately following which the US President would head towards the trilateral meeting with both the leaders.
After the trilateral summit at White House, the scene would shift to the State Department wherein the delegations of the three countries would hold detailed discussions in separate groups in various focused areas -- foreign policy, security, intelligence sharing, transit and finance and agriculture.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the real purpose of summit is to "coordinate our activities as we try to deal with the fundamental problems that Pakistan and Afghanistan face terrorism".
"..But the economic situation and the impact that the global economic crisis is having on the region, to try to do what we can to better deliver services in government to the peoples of both countries."
Zardari and Karzai would also be going out on the Capitol Hill to meet Congressional leaders and brief them about the positions of their respective governments.
Prominent among the meetings include that with the House of Representative Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Zardari and Karzai would also be meeting the members of the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has hosted a joint lunch for the two delegations Wednesday. In between, while Karzai is scheduled to address the prestigious Brookings institute, Zardari would be meeting the members of the Pakistani American community in Washington.