Pushing Pakistan To Keep Up Terror Fight

Written for CBSNews.com by Farhan Bokhari, reporting from Islamabad.

Confirmation of Scheffer's pending visit came amid growing concerns in Washington and other Western capitals that Pakistan's new coalition government was softening its tactics against Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants in the country.

NATO officials tracking attacks on Western and Afghan troops in Afghanistan warned Wednesday that the attacks rose by 50 percent in April compared to a year ago.

"We are concerned about this trend. There is an urgent need for Pakistan to tighten controls around this situation," said the diplomat, who spoke to CBS News in Islamabad on condition of anonymity.

"We want to tell the Pakistanis they have very high stakes in this situation," he added.

Pakistani government officials confirmed Wednesday that they had released more than 30 Taliban suspects from custody in exchange for the release of at least seven military and paramilitary troops who had been held by fighters loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, a prominent militant commander.

For months, Mehsud has secretly negotiated with Pakistani officials to strike a peace agreement, in spite of concerns from Western governments that acquiescing to him would worsen the security situation in Pakistan and the region.

In 2006, the Pakistani government struck a controversial peace agreement with militants in the Waziristan region, near the Afghan border, only to see that deal collapse within months. Militants loyal to the Taliban and al Qaeda used the opportunity offered by that agreement to reorganize and launch more frequent and deadly attacks on Pakistani troops.

The new agreement comes with vows from Pakistani officials that they have no intention to withdraw Pakistani troops from crucial border region.

On Wednesday, a senior Pakistani government official told CBS News that there might be some reduction of troops in certain areas, but it would not compromise the Pakistani military's overall control.

"You might see some thinning of troop presence, but we are not going to create empty pockets anywhere," said the official, who also spoke on the condition that he not be named.

Western diplomats also warned that the new Pakistani government, which came to power after national elections in February, had to move quickly to establish a clearer policy on fighting militancy.

These warnings followed statements from leaders of the new government who stated their intention to review Pakistan's involvement in the war on terror - six years after the country joined the U.S.-led anti-terror alliance in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"There has to be a clearer statement from Pakistani leaders that they will not compromise with militants," another Western diplomat told CBS News. "If Pakistani leaders are looking for compromises with militants, they will not find much support for their cause outside the country."