Pakistan FM seeks aid to combat Taliban spread

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2009

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistan's foreign minister has called for more international aid to combat Islamic extremists, saying in an interview published Monday that the Taliban could otherwise move into India and the Gulf.

The warning from Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in an interview with the Financial Times, comes two days before the first summit of European Union and Pakistan leaders in Brussels, at which aid for Islamabad will likely top the agenda.

He called for 2.5 billion dollars alone in emergency relief and reconstruction aid for the northwest, where troops have been locked in heavy combat with Taliban militants since late April.

Qureshi's comments come as Pakistan expands its anti-Taliban offensive in the northwest to the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan,...