Cheney urges Pakistan to push against Taliban at border

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced trip to Pakistan yesterday and urged President Pervez Musharraf to step up efforts to counter resurgent Taliban and Al Qaeda activities in the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan ahead of the radical Islamic groups' impending "spring offensive."

During a four-hour stop in Pakistan on his way home from a trip to Australia and Japan, Cheney "expressed US apprehensions [over the] regrouping of Al Qaeda in the tribal areas and called for concerted efforts in countering the threat," the government-owned Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

"He expressed serious US concerns on the intelligence being picked up of an impending Taliban and Al Qaeda 'spring offensive' against allied forces in Afghanistan," it said.

Cheney made no public comment about his meeting, and the White House said details of it were "confidential."

In a news briefing, White House spokesman Tony Snow would not confirm reports that Cheney delivered a tough message to Musharraf, urging him to take stronger action against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistani territory or risk losing a large US aid package.

Snow had only praise for Musharraf in the briefing.

"We have not been saying it's a tough message," he said in response to questions about Cheney's visit, which a pool report described as shrouded in secrecy. "What we're saying is . . . the vice president is meeting with President Musharraf because we do understand the importance of making even greater progress against Al Qaeda, against the Taliban."

Earlier, Snow told reporters, "The Pakistanis remain committed to doing everything possible to fight Al Qaeda. But having said that, we also know that there's a lot more that needs to be done."

After conferring with Musharraf, Cheney flew to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan , but a planned meeting with President Hamid Karzai was postponed.

President Bush recently described the Pakistani border area as "wilder than the Wild West," and some members of the new Democratic-controlled Congress want Islamabad to do more to tame it.

The House recently passed a bill requiring presidential certification that Pakistan is making "all possible efforts" to prevent the Taliban from operating on Pakistani territory as a condition for continued US military aid.

Pakistan receives about $850 million a year in US military, economic, and drug-control aid, of which an estimated $350 million a year could be affected if the House bill became law.

In his meeting with Cheney today, Musharraf "expressed concern on the proposed discriminatory legislation regarding US aid to Pakistan and the need to remove misperceptions being created by the Western media about the country's vital efforts in the fight against terrorism," the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Musharraf maintained that most Taliban activities originate in Afghanistan, "and the solution of the issue also lies within that country," the government-run news agency reported.

He said the international community is "collectively responsible for defeating the scourge of terrorism and curbing militant activities inside Afghanistan," and asserted that Pakistan "has done the maximum" in the battle, the news agency said.

Musharraf told Cheney that his government has deployed more than 80,000 troops and set up more than 1,000 checkpoints along the more than 1,400-mile border between the two countries, "in contrast to only 100 posts on the Afghan side," the agency reported. It said Cheney expressed appreciation for "Pakistan's pivotal role in the fight against terrorism."

However, Pakistan has come under growing criticism in the United States, including from Republican lawmakers, over a peace deal last year between the government and tribal leaders that critics say has allowed the Taliban and Al Qaeda to operate with virtual impunity in the rugged frontier provinces.

The Taliban reportedly has expanded the training of suicide bombers on Pakistani soil and strengthened its alliance with Al Qaeda in preparation for a spring offensive against Afghan, US, and NATO forces.

Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently criticized "the lack of Pakistani resolve with the Taliban," telling a hearing that this was creating "clearly unacceptable" difficulties for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.