Pakistan needs our help;
but no blank cheque: Obama
Unveiling his new Afghan-Pak strategy, President Barack Obama today vowed to work more resolutely to "disrupt, defeat and dismantle" extremists and their safe havens in the two counties, which he described as a threat to the US, India and other parts of the world.

Obama bluntly told Pakistan to "demonstrate its commitment to root out al-Qaeda" operating from its soil while making it clear that no "blank cheques" would be given to it.Rejecting Pakistan's opposition to American drone attacks in its territory, Obama underlined that Islamabad needs the US help to root out the "cancer" of terrorism emanating from its soil.

Turning the heat on Pakistan, President Barack Obama today bluntly told the Islamic nation that a "blank cheque" cannot be given if it did not show commitment to eliminate Al-Qaeda within its border and vowed to wipe out terrorists from the safe havens in that country.

Unveiling a sweeping new Afghan war strategy, Obama also identified India, Russia and China as among the countries having a stake in the security of the region and that none of them benefit from a base for Al Qaeda terrorists and a region that descends into chaos."And after years of mixed results we will and cannot provide a blank cheque. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out Al Qaeda and violent extremists within its border," he said, describing Al-Qaeda as a "cancer" that could devour Pakistan, more than seven years after the September 11 attacks.

The President also said "the US must pursue constructive diplomacy with both India and Pakistan to lessen tensions between two nuclear-armed nations that often teeter on the edge of escalation and confrontation." Describing the volatile Pak-Afghan border region as "most dangerous place in the world" and the situation in Afghanistan "increasingly perilous", Obama said multiple intelligence estimates have warned that Al-Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan." In this context, the President warned that if Pakistan would not act on intelligence on the whereabouts of terrorists, the United States would.