NOTING that the recent success of Pakistan military against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda has been encouraging, a top US army general has said that the enemy in Pakistan has been far from defeated. These encouraging developments notwithstanding, however, the enemy in Pakistan is far from defeated, and many extremist elements have yet to be engaged, particularly those that typically operate outside Pakistans borders, Commander of the US Central Command General David Petraeus said. Petraeus said that a number of developments in Pakistan over the past four and half months have been heartening. The Pakistani government, clerics and people increasingly have united in support of military operations against the extremists operating inside Pakistans borders. Indeed, Pakistans leaders and people have come to see the Pakistani Taliban as a threat to their countrys very existence, and this is significant, he said at the 91st annual American Legion Convention, Louisville, Kentucky, reported CNN-IBN. Robust Pakistani military operations in Swat Valley and in other NWFP districts have cleared militants from those areas. Operations in FATA in recent months have resulted in the death of militant leader Baitullah Mehsud and a number of other important extremist group leaders, Petraeus said. Even here one can sense the beginning of a realisation among Pakistans leaders and people that extremists operating from their soil, in neighbouring countries, challenge the writ of Pakistani governance and inevitably will turn on their own countrys security forces and citizens, Petraeus said. It goes without saying that we will continue to support the Pakistani military and the government as they grapple with the security challenges of such enormous importance to them and to our country and the rest of the world, he said.