Clinton: Pakistan abdicating Taliban

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban.

STORY:

The Swat Valley in Pakistan. Once a tourist destination -- now under Islamic sharia law after President Asif Ali Zardari signed off on new regulations in an effort to end the violence.

On Capitol Hill, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called this a dangerous precedent.

SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying (English):

"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists."

In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee -- when Clinton was pressed on domestic issues she warned about the potential danger emanating from Pakistan.

SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying (English):

"I do want to talk about Pakistan, which I think poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world."

Clinton said there is a reason certain territories have become fertile ground in Pakistan for the Taliban and other extremist groups.

SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying (English):

"If you talk to the people in Pakistan, especially in the ungoverned territories that are growing, they don't believe that the state has a judiciary system that works, it's corrupt, it doesn't extend its power into the country."

President Barack Obama is expected to hold a summit early next month in Washington DC, where he will be joined by the leaders of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.