Pakistan is ready to launch an operation against Taliban safe havens in the mountains of North Waziristan to coincide with a Nato offensive in Kandahar, following a meeting with senior American officials. The US has made no secret of its frustration that a key ally in the war on terror has not moved against militant hideouts in the lawless tribal region. Nato is building its forces in Afghanistan ahead of an anticipated strike against insurgents in Kandahar. The southern city is a Taliban stronghold and strategists believe a successful operation could turn the tide of war. However, Pakistan's rugged, porous border poses a major challenge. Islamabad is under pressure to root militants from their bases in North Waziristan in order to destroy potential hiding places for Afghan fighters fleeing Kandahar. General James Jones, Barack Obama's National Security Adviser, and Leon Panetta, CIA director, met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of the Army Staff, in Islamabad to discuss a common approach to tackling terrorism. Following the meeting, a senior Pakistani security official told The Daily Telegraph: "Our position is that we are committed to an operation in the north at a time of our choosing. "That's what was agreed on Wednesday. "But we cannot provoke unrest in that region until we have pacified South Waziristan." The region is part of the lawless tribal belt. Its inhospitable terrain, deep gorges and caves are thought to have hosted Osama bin Laden in the past. Robert Simmons, a Nato deputy assistant secretary general, said that North Waziristan remained "the biggest concern" but added: "It is for Pakistan to set its strategy and the timings." The issue assumed fresh urgency after Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, told interrogators he had visited a training camp in North Waziristan. (The Daily Telegraph)