Biden urges Pakistani-Indian cooperation

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Pakistan and India should cooperate with each other to bring the Mumbai terrorists to justice, U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden said Friday.

In a visit to the region with a congressional delegation, Biden met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad, praising Pakistani officials for their work after the late November assault on India's financial and entertainment hub in which roughly 170 people died, the Pakistan Tribune reported.

Zardari said there shouldn't be any doubt about Pakistan's role in maintaining peace in the region. He added that Pakistan was making progress in investigating the Mumbai attacks, the newspaper reported.

Pakistan wants maintain its ties with Washington, although Zardari said he hoped the United States would end its unmanned airstrikes against suspected terrorist targets along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Tribune said.

Biden, in his capacity as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a congressional delegation arrived in Pakistan hours after U.S. and Pakistani officials confirmed a U.S. missile strike killed two senior al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan, CBS News reported.

Biden also is expected to meet with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.