Holbrooke says US must support Pak government

Richard Holbrooke, the special US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has said that a stable, secure, democratic Pakistan is vital to US national security interests.Testifying before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee as it considers President Obama's new Pak-Afghan strategy here Tuesday, the envoy said that US must support and strengthen the democratic government of Pakistan in order to eliminate once and for all the extremist threat from al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups."“Relations between the US and Pakistan have been "inconsistent," he added."In Pakistan, many believe that we are not a reliable long-term partner and that we will abandon them after achieving our counterterrorism objectives.”“Many in the U.S. question the dedication of some elements of the Pakistani government to ending safe haven for terrorists on Pakistani soil. But our engagement has to be aimed at putting our relationship on a better long-term footing," he maintained.In his opening statement at the hearing, Senator John Kerry, the committee's chairman, declared that "with its nuclear arsenal, terrorist safe havens, Taliban sanctuaries and growing insurgency, Pakistan has emerged as one of the most difficult foreign policy challenges we face."The Massachusetts Democrat said that Obama's meetings last week with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai were "a significant step forward," but much work remains to succeed with a "bold new strategy.""Since President Obama called on Congress to pass a Pakistan aid bill, the dangers of inaction have risen almost by the day. The government has struck an ill-advised deal that effectively surrendered the Swat Valley to the Taliban,” Kerry said.