Pakistan to back Nato in fighting Taliban

British General David Richards, who commands 31,000 international troops from 37 countries in insurgency-hit Afghanistan, met Musharraf for an hour of talks on security and cooperation, officials here said.

Musharraf told Richards that Pakistan was cooperating with Afghanistan in the "fight against terrorism and extremism," besides hosting over 2.5 million Afghan refugees, a Pakistan military statement said.

Musharraf also defended a controversial peace deal signed with tribal elders and insurgents in the restive tribal area of North Waziristan, saying it "was aimed at checking the activities of terrorists and militant Taliban."

The statement said that Richards had praised Pakistan's efforts and the "excellent cooperation being extended in the fight against terrorism."

It quoted Richards as saying that "Isaf fully appreciates that a vast majority of problems of Afghanistan are emanating from within the country having deep roots due to the fact that the country had remained highly unstable for over two decades."

Isaf, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force, assumed command of foreign troops in Afghanistan last Thursday, taking charge of the east of the country from the US-led coalition that toppled the Taliban five years ago.

Nato did not make any immediate comment following Richards' meeting with Musharraf at Army House, the Pakistani leader's official residence in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, which adjoins the capital.