U.S., Pakistan diplomacy to fight terror

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 7 (UPI) -- The United States Tuesday affirmed its pledge not to deploy U.S. troops inside Pakistan, two top U.S. officials said.

. U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the U.S. commitment at a joint news conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad.

"The United States and Pakistan face a common threat, a common enemy and common challenges," the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported Holbrooke as saying.

Qureshi was quoted as saying the United States "has announced that it will respect Pakistan's demand of no foreign boots" on Pakistan's soil.

The U.S. officials, who are attempting to arrive at a consensus with Pakistani leaders regarding joint approaches to counterterrorism, were also to meet Pakistan Muslim League leader Nawaz Sharif Tuesday. Sharif has skirted the issue of how to curtail the spreading Taliban influence.

The U.S. military is focusing on Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts in Pakistan's tribal region, using drone missile attacks despite requests from Pakistani leaders to stop.

Pakistani President Asif Zardari said Pakistan will not cave in to Taliban pressure.