KABUL, Sept 26: Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States must cooperate much more closely if they are to deal with the threat posed by militants, President George W. Bush’s national security adviser said on Monday.

Stephen Hadley called for shared intelligence and joint action against militants after meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the country’s interior and defence ministers.

“We’ve all made progress, but we’ve got to do more,” he told news conference in Kabul.

“We are dealing with extremists who have a distorted view of Islam to justify their activities and have aspirations to topple governments and extend control throughout this region.

“All three of us are threatened and all three of us have

to cooperate ... The three nations need to engage much more closely together on this effort. They need to share intelligence and take as much as possible joint action to deal with this threat.”

Mr Hadley said the United States had been working with Pakistan to help it deal with terrorists operating there and he noted that most US forces in Afghanistan were on the Pakistani border.

“But this is a very hard problem; there is no quick fix to this problem,” he said. “The only way we will succeed is if we work effectively together.”

Last week, Mr Karzai called for a change in strategy in the war against insurgents, saying he did not think there was a big need for military action, and questioning the use of United States air power, which has sometimes caused civilian casualties.

Without naming Pakistan, Mr Karzai said there should be more focus on dealing with terrorist bases and support structures.

While stressing the United States would remain committed to helping Afghanistan, Mr Hadley said there were things the government itself had to deal with.—Reuters