War against terror is responsibility of all nations: US

WASHINGTON: The US has sought to downplay the concerns over constant bickering between two of its allies Pakistan and Afghanistan in the war against terrorism, saying it was the responsibility of all nations to fight al-Qaeda.

"... I think the perspective that we all have on this (war on terror) is that fighting terrorism, both by the Taliban and al-Qaeda, is the responsibility of all countries. It certainly is the responsibility both of Pakistan and Afghanistan," State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said.

"President Karzai is dedicated to that fight. President Musharraf is as well," he said on Tuesday.

Identifying that there were problems in federally administered tribal areas in Pakistan in terms of militant activities, Casey said Islamabad was well aware of the same.

"I think Pakistan is well aware of that since, I believe, they've had a couple of hundred Pakistani soldiers killed in fighting against some of these extremists in the last couple of weeks," he said.

The spokesman also emphasised the need "to work cooperatively to resolve the issues" through a "tripartite mechanism between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the US."

On the upcoming meeting of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Casey said "I know a large portion of that discussion will focus on how those two countries can work together to resolve some of these problems.

"But this isn't something where people should be pointing fingers or trying to cast blame. It's a problem we all have and we all need to work together to solve," Casey added.