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Pakistan and EU in 'terror' talks Pakistan and EU in 'terror' talks
(about 2 hours later)
The fight against Islamic militancy is expected to dominate the first ever summit between the European Union and Pakistan due in Brussels. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is meeting Nato and European Union leaders in Brussels for talks focusing on boosting trade and fighting terrorism.
The talks will also concentrate on improving trade. Speaking after a meeting at Nato's headquarters, President Zardari said: "Defeat is not an option for us."
The worsening security situation in Pakistan has got the European Union worried. The worsening security situation in Pakistan has made it a key foreign policy priority for Nato and the EU.
The EU's top counter-terrorism official has warned the threat of attack from young Europeans radicalised and trained in Pakistan is real. The talks come as Pakistan says it is about to launch a major assault against the Taliban along the Afghan border.
To combat that threat, the EU is looking at closer security cooperation but will also boost trade links as a prelude to a possible free trade agreement. On Tuesday, a US Senate committee voted in favour of trebling non-military aid to Pakistan to $7.5bn over five years.
There will also be extra aid to help with the humanitarian crisis facing refugees fleeing the fighting in the Swat valley. 'Determination'
But it is unusual for a relatively insignificant trading partner like Pakistan to be given this kind of treatment. The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says the fight against terrorism will dominate the first ever summit between the EU and Pakistan.
The very fact this summit is taking place at all is a sign of how bad things have got - Pakistan is now a key foreign policy priority. Mr Zardari met Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is chairing the summit
EU counter terrorism officials have warned of the threat of attack from young Europeans radicalised and trained in Pakistan.
To combat that threat, the EU is looking at closer security co-operation but will also boost trade links as a prelude to a possible free trade agreement.
Europe is also set to offer more aid to help with the humanitarian crisis facing refugees fleeing fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban in the Swat valley and other parts of north-west Pakistan.
Our correspondent says it is unusual for a relatively insignificant trading partner like Pakistan to be given this kind of treatment - the fact the summit is taking place at all is a sign of how bad things have got.
Speaking after a meeting at Nato's headquarters, President Zardari said the army was determined to win the war against the Taliban.
"The war has just started so I can't tell you how it's going. I can tell you that my determination to fight is there, my army's determination to fight is there, my people's determination to fight is there."
He spoke of a "constructive dialogue" with Nato and said Pakistan would work in close partnership with the alliance.
Taleban 'digging in'
In Pakistan itself preparations are continuing for what the authorities have called a full-fledged military operation against the leader of the Pakistan Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud.
His network of fighters has accepted responsibility for - or been blamed for - many suicide bombings in Pakistan.
But military experts in Pakistan agree that defeating the Taliban in their main sanctuary in the rugged and mountainous tribal area of South Waziristan is likely to be a far tougher challenge than the offensive seen over the past seven weeks in and around Swat.
Tribal elders in the region are quoted as saying the Taliban are digging tunnels in the mountains to protect themselves against bombing.
And, with two million people already displaced by the earlier offensive, more civilians are reported to be on the move out of South Waziristan ahead of the new operation.
"The total figure of internally displaced persons is likely to rise as military operations extend into other areas," aid group Oxfam said in a statement.