Dick Cheney makes surprise visit to Pak

ISLAMABAD: US Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Pakistan on Monday for talks with President General Pervez Musharraf on efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan.

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.

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, he added.

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

Pakistan is considered a key US ally in its war against terrorism. However, US 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 cross-border attacks.