Issue of Bilour's bounty raised with Zardari: US Official

Senior US administration official says Zardari broached the issue, saying they had disassociated with Bilour.

NEW YORK: A senior US official has said that they have raised the issue of Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour's bounty offer for Sam Bacile, with President Asif Ali Zardari.

In a teleconference with reporters, a senior Administration official said that the matter was raised by Zardari himself, who said that they have disassociated themselves from Bilour's statements.

"We found the statements inflammatory and unacceptable," said the official.

The US official said that in Zardari’s meeting with Secretary Clinton on Monday, the President had invited the coalition leaders from the Pakistani Government, who also gave their assessments of the situation in Pakistan.

Reporters were told that Zardari and Clinton also had a private meeting after the meeting with the coalition partners. The official said they discussed the Haqqani Network, countering IEDs, and reconciliation inAfghanistan.

"There has also been an emphasis on moving the relationship towards the economic side as opposed to just assistance," said the official.

The senior administration official said that they had also raised the issue of Dr Shakil Afridi in the meeting.

Meetings with Karzai

The US official said that they welcomed the trilateral meeting between the UK, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The official added that the important thing is what the Afghans want from the process, and that is the US' and Pakistan's support for an Afghan-led peace process.

The Administration official added  that what Pakistan and US are doing is listening carefully to the Afghans and do what "they are asking us to do to support this effort."

The official said that Secretary Clinton also met with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Monday, where she updated him about the meeting of the core group of the US and Pakistan on the issue of Afghanistan.