Pak assures US of full cooperation in Mumbai terror probe

Rezaul H Laskar Islamabad, Jan 8 (PTI) A day after Pakistan acknowledged Mumbai attacker Ajmal Amir Kasab as its national, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today assured the US of full cooperation in the probe into the deadly terror strikes in India's financial hub. The assurance was conveyed by the two leaders during a meeting with US Ambassador Anne Patterson at the presidency here this evening, media reports said.
There was no official word on the meeting though official sources were quoted by TV channels as saying that the US envoy had met Pakistan's top leadership to discuss the status of the probe into the Mumbai attacks and the issue of Islamabad acknowledging Kasab as a Pakistani national. Earlier, Zardari and Gilani held a one-to-one meeting and reportedly agreed that further information on Kasab should not be shared with the media till the completion of investigation by Pakistan's security agencies.
During her meeting with the top Pakistani leaders, Patterson also discussed US Vice President-elect Joe Biden's visit to Pakistan beginning tomorrow, the security situation along the border with Afghanistan and the war on terror. She reportedly said India and Pakistan should exercise restraint and defuse tensions sparked by the Mumbai attacks.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister met Zardari to discuss the regional security situation in the wake of the government's admission that Kasab is a Pakistani national. Gilani sought the meeting with the President amidst reports of sharp differences between the two leaders.