JOIN US Zardari, who was here on a two-day visit to attend the memorial service for late US special envoy for Af-Pak region Richard Holbrooke, held talks with Obama on Friday evening.
“The discussion focused on our shared efforts to fight terrorism and promote regional stability, specifically on the importance of cooperating towards a peaceful and stable outcome in Afghanistan,” the White House said.
During the 30-minute meeting, Obama told Zardari he is looking forward to visiting Pakistan later this year, it said.
“The President underscored the importance of the US-Pakistan relationship and our continued support for Pakistan,” the White House said.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani told a briefing after the meeting that both leaders agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations. “No body said Pakistan was not doing enough (against terrorism). Nothing negative was said about either country,” he said.
Haqqani was the only Pakistani official to have accompanied Zardari for the Obama meeting at the Oval office. Obama was accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and his other counter-terrorism advisers. The Obama-Zardari meeting comes within days of the Islamabad visit of US Vice President Joe Biden, where he met top Pakistani leadership, including Zardari.