|
|
|
| Sunday, 05 March 2006 |
 |
|
 |
World |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Bush holds terror talks with Musharraf in Pakistan by Danny Kemp and Rana Jawad US President George W. Bush held talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, at which he was to push his key ally for more progress on the "war on terror" and on democracy. Pakistani police detained opposition leaders including former cricketer Imran Khan to prevent planned protests, while tensions remained high after a suicide bomber killed a US diplomat in Karachi on Thursday. Unprecedented security turned Islamabad into a ghost town for the first visit to Pakistan by Bush, who arrived with his wife Laura late Friday on the final leg of a South Asian tour that has also taken in India and Afghanistan. Musharraf and Bush held a "fruitful" one-on-one meeting at the imposing presidential compound in Islamabad, a Pakistani official said. Bush earlier inspected an honour guard of Pakistani soldiers. "They discussed all issues, the fight against terrorism, Kashmir, the regional situation, Iraq. It was a very comprehensive, friendly and relaxed meeting," the official said on condition of anonymity. First Lady Laura Bush met Musharraf's wife Sehba and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's wife Rukshana, the official added. Two US Black Hawk helicopters circled low over central Islamabad throughout the visit, anti-aircraft guns were positioned on nearby hillsides and thousands of police lined the streets. "I will meet with President Musharraf to discuss Pakistan's vital cooperation in the war on terror and our effort to foster economic and political development so we could reduce the appeal of radical Islam," Bush said in New Delhi late Friday. "I believe a prosperous democratic Pakistan would be a steadfast partner for America and a peaceful neighbour for India and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world," he added. A White House official later said Bush meant to say "Muslim world". Bush spent the night at the heavily fortified US embassy and will spend the whole day in Islamabad, also meeting businessmen and attending a banquet -- which opposition legislators have vowed to boycott. Bush, an avid baseball fan, was expected to meet Pakistani cricket captain Inzamam-ul Haq, vice captain Younis Khan and opener Salman Butt as well as child players from this cricket-crazy country. Bush's maiden trip to Pakistan despite the security risks is being seen as a show of solidarity for Musharraf, whose alliance with Washington since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States has angered Islamists at home. Pakistan has around 70,000 troops along the rugged frontier with Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden and other militants are thought to be hiding and has caught several key Al-Qaeda militants. But Bush said before his tour that he would remind his "friend" Musharraf of the need to do more to combat terrorism and cross-border infiltration. Meanwhile the US leader's comments on democracy reflect the fact that military ruler Musharraf has refused to shed his role as army chief more than six years after he seized power in a bloodless coup. Opposition Islamic groups led a national strike and protests against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on Friday, which turned into anti-Bush rallies, and called for Pakistanis to observe a "black day" on Saturday. A spokesman for Imran Khan's small Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or Movement for Justice party, told AFP that the ex-cricket captain was under house arrest to stop him leading a protest in Rawalpindi near Islamabad. Police also detained a lawmaker from Pakistan's main alliance of religious parties who planned to head the rally instead, and dozens of other activists. For Pakistan the visit is a chance to consolidate its relationship with Washington, after Bush hailed a new strategic partnership with Islamabad's traditional rival New Delhi. Bush clinched a landmark nuclear energy deal with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Pakistan says it wants a "similar" arrangement despite a proliferation scandal involving its disgraced top nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. Musharraf is expected to ask Bush to push India on the their nearly six-decade-old feud over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, trigger of two of their three wars. India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004. Officials said Pakistan and the United States were also working on finalizing a bilateral investment treaty, seen as a first step to a Free Trade Agreement.
|
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
