US commander visits Pakistan as it fights 'for survival'

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 03 (Reuters): The United States (US) commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks Monday with Pakistani defence officials who told him Pakistan was fighting a war for its survival against militancy.
His visit to Pakistan, apparently his first stop on a foreign tour since taking charge of US. Central Command on Friday, highlights US concern about a country seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan and to defeating al Qaeda.
US analysts say Pakistan is facing a major threat from Islamist militants at a time when the nuclear-armed nation and its new civilian government are engulfed in extraordinarily difficult economic problems.
Petraeus was being accompanied by Assistant US Secretary of State Richard Boucher.
Their visit comes as relations between the United States and Pakistan have been strained by a series of cross-border strikes by US forces on militant targets in Pakistan.
The two Americans met Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar Monday and were due to meet military and other government leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, later in the day.
The most pressing problems for Petraeus include rising insurgent violence in Afghanistan and sanctuaries for Taliban and al Qaeda militants across the border in Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal lands.
The United States and NATO are losing ground against an escalating Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, despite the presence of 64,000 Western troops, while al Qaeda has regained strength in Pakistan's tribal region.
Petraeus has been hailed as an outstanding military leader for helping pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war with a strategy that brought a 'surge' of 30,000 extra US troops.
Pakistan strongly objects to the US strikes within its territory, saying they are a violation of its sovereignty and undermine efforts to isolate the militants and rally public opinion behind the unpopular campaign against militancy.
The United States has shrugged off Pakistan's complaints over the attacks. It says the attacks are needed to protect US troops in Afghanistan and kill Taliban and al Qaeda militants who threaten them.
About 20 people, including militants, were killed in the latest US missile strikes on two violence-plagued border regions, North and South Waziristan, Friday.