Pak serious about fighting extremism: Scheffer

Brussels, Feb. 19 (ANI): North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Thursday said the militants fighting forces in Afghanistan are trying to destabilize Pakistan, and the alliance should therefore take a more regional approach to the Afghan conflict.

NATO needed to bolster its contacts with Pakistan because its stability was crucial to the success of the NATO's Afghan mission, The News quoted Scheffer as saying.

"We should increase military-to-military engagement in Pakistan and deepen the political dialogue," Scheffer told reporters at the start of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in the Polish city of Krakow.

"I can say again that I believe the Pakistani government is serious about fighting extremism. What we need in NATO is to stop seeing Afghanistan in isolation and to start seeing it in a more regional approach," Scheffer added.

"That is why we deepen our cooperation with Pakistan because the same people are trying to destabilize the situation in Afghanistan and in Pakistan," Scheffer said.(ANI)