Britain praises Pakistan's dialogue with neighbors

Britain on Wednesday praised Pakistan's increased dialogue with Afghanistan and India, saying the new "zeal" in its foreign policy was vital as the region struggles with Islamist terrorism.

Pakistan's young government is under pressure from the U.S. and its allies to clamp down on al-Qaida and Taliban militants nested along its western border who are blamed for rising violence in Afghanistan.

Islamabad has responded by launching an unprecedented military operation against insurgents along the Afghan frontier and making diplomatic overtures to both Delhi and Kabul.

Visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the "reforming zeal and instinct of the government is coming to the fore in a positive way and gaining the confidence of the international community."

He said it was "very important in turning Pakistan outwards and making clear that it sees itself as a cooperative force for stability in the region."

Pakistan in the past has harnessed Islamic militancy to exert influence in Afghanistan and put pressure on India in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused Pakistan's top spy agency of covertly supporting the Taliban. However, his tone has eased since Asif Ali Zardari replaced Pervez Musharraf as Pakistan's president in September.

Miliband declined to confirm reports by Pakistani intelligence officers that British militant suspect Rashid Rauf was killed in a weekend U.S. missile attack in the border region.

"Until we clarify what has happened to him, I would be wrong to comment," he said during a dialogue with students at an Islamic university.

Rauf, who is of Pakistani origin, has been on the run since last December, when he escaped from police escorting him back to jail after an extradition hearing in Islamabad. He is linked to a plot to blow up jetliners flying across the Atlantic.

Washington has carried out a surge of missile attacks in the border region since August, angering Pakistan's government and many of its 170 million people.

In the city of Lahore on Wednesday, about 1,000 members of an Islamist political party marched against the attacks, which U.S. officials say are putting pressure on al-Qaida.

"America's graveyard: Afghanistan, Afghanistan," they shouted. "America's graveyard: Pakistan, Pakistan."