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Pakistan president says US-led war against Taliban is being lost
• Battle for Afghanistan hearts and minds 'has failed' • Cameron sticks to his guns on Pakistani terror groups
# Simon Tisdall and Haroon Siddique # guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 August 2010 20.39 BS
Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, warned today that the US-led Nato coalition was losing the war in Afghanistan and should replace its mistaken approach with a long-term strategy to win over the Afghan people.
But in a sign of continuing differences with Britain, his remarks were almost immediately contradicted by David Cameron. The prime minister again urged the Pakistani leader to do more "to close down terrorist groups in Pakistan that threaten British lives".
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Zardari said: "I believe that the international community, which Pakistan belongs to, is in the process of losing the war against the Taliban. And that is, above all, because we have lost the battle for hearts and minds."
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