Clinton thanks Zardari for handling protests

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met President Asif Ali Zardari and thanked him for Pakistan’s handling of several days of violent anti-US protests.
Clinton greeted Zardari as “my friend” and introduced him to the new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, whom she said she had just been sworn in so he could attend their talks.
“We very much appreciate the strong response of your government,” she said, at the start of their meeting in a New York hotel, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which opens on Tuesday.
Zardari said it had been “a difficult time for all of us” before reporters were ushered out of the room.
Pakistan has been rocked by days of violent protests in its major cities as demonstrations have swept Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia over an anti-Islam film.
“One or two insane persons should not be allowed to endanger world peace in the garb of freedom of expression,” Zardari said in his meeting with Clinton, according to a statement from the Pakistan embassy.
Friday’s protests left 21 dead, and more than 200 injured as Pakistani police fought back to disperse crowds around US diplomatic missions.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar insisted on Friday that ties between the United States and Pakistan are improving after hitting a low following the killing of Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani compound in May 2011, and a US airstrike in November which killed 24 Pakistani troops.
“We should build on the positive momentum,” Zardari told Clinton.
The statement said the two leaders had also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, and how to cooperate in achieving stability there.
Peace and stability in Pakistan were tied to peace and stability in Afghanistan, he insisted. “No country has paid a higher price for the conflict in Afghanistan than Pakistan,” he said.
He also called for Pakistani products, particularly textiles, to be granted better access to US markets.
“Pakistan would rather do trade than depend on aid,” the Pakistani leader insisted.