U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says the U.S. and Pakistan have forged an "enduring partnership" against "extreme ideologies" -- a relationship based on common interests. Biden made his comments Wednesday in Islamabad following talks with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousef Gilani. He also met with Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani.
At a news conference with Prime Minister Gilani, Biden said he discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues with Pakistani leaders and reviewed the situation in Afghanistan, where he met with President Hamid Karzai earlier this week. Biden said that al-Qaida terrorists are a threat to Pakistan as well as the United States and that he has confidence in Pakistan's leadership in the fight against terrorism. The U.S. vice president said he wanted to address "misconceptions" about the U.S. role in Pakistan, saying it is extremists, not the U.S., who violate Pakistani sovereignty.