Pakistani media reported that President Asif Ali Zardari emphasized to Marc Grossman that Washington should look for alternatives to drone strikes targeting suspected militants, saying the attacks were proving counterproductive to Islamabad's own campaign against the violent insurgency in the lawless region bordering Afghanistan, dpa reported. Grossman stressed Saturday that an "enduring, strategic and clearly defined" relationship between the United States and Pakistan was necessary in order to achieve regional peace. Grossman met government officials in the Pakistani capital Islamabad following his overnight talks with the army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on border security and reconciliation efforts with neighbouring Afghanistan. The special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan reiterated Washington's commitment to working with Islamabad on shared counterterrorism objectives, the US embassy said in a statement. "It is important that the United States and Pakistan cooperate closely to ensure that Pakistan, Afghanistan and the region are more secure, stable and prosperous," it said.
