Cheney Visits Pakistan

02/26/2007

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Pakistan Monday for talks with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan, an official said.

Cheney arrived on Monday morning and went straight to Musharraf's office in Rawalpindi, just south of the capital Islamabad, for talks on bilateral and international issues, a senior official in the president's office said.

State-run Pakistan Television also reported that the meeting was under way.

Cheney and Musharraf were expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan as well as the Pakistani leader's efforts to muster a response from Muslim nations to instability in the Middle East, the senior official said. He requested anonymity because he is not an official spokesman.

It was unclear if Cheney joined the same talks held Monday between Musharraf and visiting British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.

Pakistan is a key U.S. ally in its war against terrorism. However, U.S. officials have been pressing Musharraf to do more against suspected Taliban and al-Qaida hideouts in Pakistan's remote border regions and to prevent them from mounting crossborder attacks.

Cheney left Australia on Sunday after a three-day visit to thank the government for contributing troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. He had earlier visited Japan and Guam.