The officials declined to say which militants were discussed or the specific action the U.S. expects Pakistan to take but confirmed that the names had been raised during a visit today by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Clinton said the U.S. expects Pakistan to authorize "joint action against al Qaeda and its affiliates," adding, "there is still much more work required, and it is urgent."
Clinton held an unscheduled, private meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, according to a U.S. official, and then met with a larger group that included Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who leads Pakistan's premiere intelligence service.
Clinton said that after Osama bin Laden's death, the United States and Pakistan had reached a "turning point," and senior administration officials have said that if Pakistan does not provide more cooperation, the United States could cut off about $2 billion in annual aid.
"It [is] up to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead," Clinton said.
Today's four hours of meetings were meant to "rebuild the trust" eroded by the United States' launch of a unilateral raid to kill bin Laden without informing Pakistan beforehand, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, who flew to Islamabad ahead of Clinton. After Clinton left, Mullen met with his direct equivalent, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Khalid Shameem Wynne, and Chief of Navy Staff Adm. Noman Bashir, according to a U.S. official.
One trust-building event occurred this morning, according to Clinton, when the CIA walked into bin Laden's former compound with high-tech equipment to find any materials hidden in the walls. The CIA, a senior U.S. official said, had been asking for access for weeks, and only in the past few days did Pakistanis grant it.
Clinton said bin Laden was a major theme in today's talks, and Pakistani officials admitted that "someone, somewhere" helped provide bin Laden support. But she went out of her way to repeat that the United States has no evidence senior government officials knew bin Laden was hiding in a large compound a few thousand feet from Pakistan's equivalent of West Point.
Clinton and Mullen -- two of the most trusted U.S. officials among the Pakistani leadership -- said today's meetings were as much about Pakistan as they were about Afghanistan. They pushed Pakistan to facilitate the draw-down of U.S. troops by assisting reconciliation talks and stopping the flow of improvised explosive devices into Afghanistan.
The United States has recently opened up direct talks with a man believed to be a representative of the Taliban leadership council called Quetta Shura, according to two senior Afghan officials. Clinton and Mullen urged Pakistan to support that process, according to senior administration officials, and do nothing to scuttle it. Pakistani intelligence officials have in the past admitted they detained Afghan Taliban leaders who expressed a willingness to reconcile.
Clinton said Pakistani officials expressed a willingness to help a political settlement in Afghanistan, but she was cautious. "We hope those words turn into action into momentum toward political reconciliation," she said.
Clinton Acknowledges Pakistan's Sacrifices
Clinton and Mullen also pushed for help on cracking down on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official said. The majority of roadside bombs that have killed more U.S. troops than any other weapon come from materials made in Pakistani factories, according to NATO officials in Kabul, and then are shipped across the border for assembly and placement.
Eight U.S. soldiers died in two IED attacks Thursday in Kandahar only 12 miles from the Pakistani border. It was the deadliest roadside bomb attack since October 2009.
Clinton and Mullen, both of whom looked worried as they walked into the news conference, took pains to acknowledge Pakistani concerns and smooth over the strains in the relationship.
Clinton, especially, acknowledged the sacrifices that Pakistan has made since allying itself with the United States after 9/11.
More than 5,000 troops, 2,000 police and 10 times the number of civilians killed on 9/11 have died in Pakistan in terrorist attacks, according to Pakistani government figures.
But Clinton acknowledged that those sacrifices are rarely discussed in the international media. She raised the deadliest attack since bin Laden's death; suicide bombers who killed about 80 just-graduated recruits for a paramilitary force.
"The loss of those young men who were training to protect their country was a tragedy," she said in her most animated moment of the news conference. "And I don't know if enough Americans understood what that meant."
But Clinton also criticized the portrayal of the United States in the Pakistani media, suggesting that the government and military here have spread "deliberate misconceptions and conspiracy theories."
She said the United States and Pakistan needed to "tell the truth" to the media, and more balanced, accurate coverage would help the two countries' leadership restore trust.
"Let's clear away the underbrush," she said to Pakistani and U.S. journalists. "Let's have the kind of open, candid conversation that you and I are having now and that we had earlier today.
"And then let the chips fall where they may. But let's not be misinterpreting or misrepresenting each other, because then we can never, ever find common ground."
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