Pakistan and Afghanistan make nice

Washington Post:

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, whose government has been accused by India of supporting a major terrorist attack there, vowed Tuesday to work closely with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to combat terrorism, saying it had become a menace to all countries in the region.

Zardari, making his first visit to Afghanistan, was welcomed by Karzai as a "brother" and returned the familiarity several times during a joint news conference at Karzai's palace in Kabul. The exchanges between the two civilian leaders appeared far more relaxed than Karzai's tense interactions with Pakistan's previous ruler, Pervez Musharraf.

"I am a victim of the same terrorism that every Afghan girl or boy in every village feels," Zardari said, referring to the assassination of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, just over a year ago. He said he and Karzai "want to tell the world we will stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight against non-state actors" who take innocent lives and terrorize nations.

As part of Zardari's visit, the two countries' foreign ministers signed a declaration that said they would develop a "joint comprehensive strategy for combating terrorism" and would "closely cooperate" with each other and the international community to "completely eliminate the menaces of militancy, extremism and terrorism from the region."

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Zardari has done more to fight the Taliban sanctuaries than Musharraf, but it is still not enough. He has also been more receptive to the use of UAVs to kill the insurgent leaders. These actions have given us a better shot at success in Afghanistan, but Pakistan's forces would be more effective if they would work with US special ops forces in fighting the counterinsurgency.

One of Zardari's problems is that he is not in complete control. As the recent events in India demonstrate elements of the security and intelligence apparatus in Pakistan have gone rogue and he apparently is unable to contain them.