Cheney Asks Pakistan to Counter al-Qaida

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney prepares to board his plane as he departs Sydney Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007. Cheney's plane from Sydney landed in Singapore on Sunday, but officials said it was a scheduled refueling stop and that the plane was not diverted. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) (Mark Baker - AP)

Cheney's visit was kept secret until the last moment for security reasons. He landed at a military base outside Islamabad and then took a helicopter to the presidential palace.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. was working with Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries to combat al-Qaida "worldwide and on the Afghan border. "I don't doubt that al-Qaida has tried to regenerate some of its leadership," she said on ABC's "This Week" program.

Musharraf complains that Pakistan is being unfairly singled out for blame for problems rooted in the U.S.-sponsored battle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. He also says there is no evidence that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden or the Taliban's Mullah Omar are on Pakistani soil.

On Monday, Musharraf told Cheney that Pakistan "has done the maximum in the fight against terrorism and "joint efforts" were needed if the fight was to succeed.

"The president emphasized that most of the Taliban activities originated from Afghanistan and the solution of the issue also lies within that country," his office said. The more than 50,000 NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan as well as Afghan security forces also share responsibility for policing the border, Musharraf added.

The president also expressed concern about proposed U.S. legislation that would link Washington's generous military aid to a certification by President Bush that Pakistan is doing its best to counter Taliban operations in Pakistan and secure its frontier. U.S. officials have said they expect to persuade Democrats to drop the link before the bill, which passed the House in January, becomes law.

In September, Musharraf struck a deal with tribal leaders in the North Waziristan area in which they are supposed to curb militant activities.

Critics say the deal has effectively ceded control of the area to pro-Taliban militants and allowed them to step up recruitment and cross-border attacks.

Musharraf defended the accord as "the way forward," his office said.

Pakistani officials acknowledge the deal has not been properly implemented, but argue that large-scale military action was alienating moderate tribesmen. The U.S. is helping fund a development program designed to persuade tribal leaders to turn against the militants.

In Afghanistan, Cheney landed at Bagram Air Base, about 30 miles north of Kabul. He had planned to travel to Kabul, likely by military helicopter, but a steady snowfall made the trip unsafe, and it was canceled, said Khaleeq Ahmad, a spokesman for Karzai.

Cheney and Karzai had been expected to talk about security along the Afghan-Pakistan border and the expected increase in violence by militants as spring thaws mountain snows.

The United States has 27,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 14,000 are part of the 35,000-member NATO force commanded by U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill. At Bagram, Cheney met with McNeill and Maj. Gen. David M. Rodriguez _ the commander of U.S. troops _ to discuss military operations, the security situation and reconstruction, said Maj. William G. Mitchell, a U.S. military spokesman.

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Associated Press Writers Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and Jason Straziuso in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.