Washington:
It's a summit that India will be watching very closely. New Delhi is hoping that the trilateral summit on Wednesday in Washington between Pakistan's President Zardari, Afghanistan's President Karzai and President Obama will come out with a concrete plan of action to crush the Taliban which has in recent months come too close to India for comfort.
The summit comes at a time of increased unrest in Pakistan and strained US-Pakistan relations. After America cracked the whip, Islamabad launched an offensive against the surging Taliban movement in the northwestern region, including Dir and Buner, close to the Pakistani capital.
While Dir and Buner are now said to be back in Islamabad's control, the Taliban held Swat region has seen an increase in incidents of Taliban intolerance including the beheading of two people and the bombing of a girl's school.
What America wants
Over the past few weeks, President Obama and other top officials of his administration and even Senators have made it clear what Washington wants from Pakistan.
- Topping that list is more determined action by Islamabad to crush the Taliban and other extremists.
- Pakistan must show results in its fight against extremists if it wants more aid from America.
- Pakistan must give a guarantee on the safety of its nuclear arsenal.
- And that Pakistan must focus on extremists operating within the country than on India.