Tampa (Florida), June 17 (ANI): The US Central Command Chief, General David Petraeus, has said that Pakistan is fighting for its own survival, as the Pakistan Army continued its offensive against the Taliban and other insurgents in the Malakand and Swat Valley of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Talking to media persons at the Central Command headquarters here, General Petraeus approved of the military offensive against the militants in Pakistan's restive region, and said that the country was engaged in a war which was directly related to its existence.

"The battle on Pakistani soil is their fight against extremism that they assess poses a threat against their very existence," The News quoted General Petraeus, as saying.

He also rejected the notion that Pakistan was forced to carry out the operation by the US, and that it was an extension of the US led global 'war on terror'.

"It's not them fighting our global war on terror," General Petraeus said.

General Petraeus also stressed that the United States was not providing direct combat assistance to Islamabad.

"We are not the source of it, this is a Pakistani operation," he added.

When enquired about the 447 million dollars that the US has pledged as a direct military assistance to Islamabad, General Petraeus said: "None of this is direct support in combat." (ANI)