NEW YORK - US regional commander General David Petraeus on Sunday expressed confidence that Pakistans nuclear sites are secure from any attempted seizure by the Taliban. We have confidence in their security procedures, the Chief of US Central Command told the 'Fox News Sunday programme when asked about Pakistans nuclear safeguards as the Taliban make deep inroads. Reuters/AFP add: The growing Taliban insurgency in Pakistan has galvanised the nuclear-armed country to fight an 'existential threat, the top US commander for the Afghan-Pakistan war theatre said. Gen Petraeus, head of US Central Command, pointed to Pakistans intensifying offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley as a sign its political leaders, people and military were united against the militants. The actions of the Pakistani Taliban ... seem to have galvanised all of Pakistan, he said. There is a degree of unanimity that there must be swift and effective action taken against the Taliban. Certainly the next few weeks will be very important in this effort to roll back, if you will, this existential threat - a true threat to Pakistans very existence that has been posed by the Taliban, Petraeus said. Petraeus welcomed what he described as a new mood of determination by President Zardaris government to take on the Taliban. There was now a 'degree of unanimity that there must be swift and effective action taken against the Taliban in Pakistan, he said, noting a shift of Army troops from the border with India to the region under threat from the militia. This is a Pakistani fight, a Pakistani battle, with elements that ... threaten the very existence of the Pakistani state. Petraeus said Al-Qaeda had been 'back in business for years and its senior leadership were at large 'in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of that very rugged border region of western Pakistan just east of Afghanistan. But he said there had been no occasion that required US troops to go in hot pursuit of militants over the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan. No. And I think we have been unequivocal in saying that this is not about us putting combat boots on the ground (in Pakistan), he said in a separate interview with CNN. He said Al-Qaeda is no longer operating in Afghanistan. But Petraeus said affiliated organisations still have 'enclaves and sanctuaries in the country. Petraeus said Al-Qaeda has suffered 'very significant losses in recent months in its hideouts across the rugged, mountainous border in Pakistan. Petraeus praised Pakistan for its offensive to root out Taliban militants sheltering Al-Qaeda.