Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was so scared of a military coup after Osama bin Laden's death that he was ready to create a "new security team" favourable to Americans and promised the US to hand over Pak-based 26/11 perpetrators including those from its intelligence agency to India.

Pakistan's spy agency ISI not only supports but also encourages terrorist outfits, particularly the Haqqani militant network, the US said on Friday, underlining that it expected the Pakistani leadersh

Terming the recent talks between India and Pakistan as encouraging, a top Pentagon official has expressed hope that the discussions will continue.

The top US military officer has left for China in a trip designed to bolster a fledgling security dialogue with Beijing, even as a US naval exercise in the South China Sea threatens to upstage his visit.

Pakistan and its leaders consider India as an existential threat to them not terrorism or Afghanistan, said Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the United States.

He said th

Pakistan Government may have sanctioned the abduction and subsequent killing of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, a top US military official has said.

The top US military officer is vowing long-term commitment to Afghanistan, touting progress in the war against the Taliban and its Al Qaeda allies ahead of an American drawdown.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Friday arrived in Pakistan on a surprise visit amid severe strains in bilateral ties following the American raid that killed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden earlier in May.

The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for talks with Pakistan's top general expected to address concerns over official links with militants in the region.

The United States' top military officer was in Baghdad on Monday, the American Army said.