NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is praising Pakistan for its role in promoting regional stability and security.
Rasmussen commended the government for its operations against militants in the tribal region during talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The NATO chief and Qureshi discussed strengthening political and military ties, which they said went beyond Pakistan's neighbor, Afghanistan. Rasmussen said he looks forward to boosting relations with Islamabad, a key ally in the U.S. led war on terror, and reiterated NATO's commitment to stay in Afghanistan beyond the planned transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces.
The talks come one day after an international conference in Kabul that endorsed the Afghan government's plan to take full control of security by 2014.
Western nations see Pakistan as a vital partner in the war in Afghanistan, as Taliban and al-Qaida militants populate both countries in the mountainous region along their shared border.
In the latest violence, Pakistani officials say 30 militants and one paramilitary soldier were killed Wednesday when militants attacked security forces in the Dabori area of the Orakzai tribal region, near the Afghan border.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.