Cheney wants Musharraf to hunt Taliban, al Qaeda

ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) US Vice President Dick Cheney today made an unannounced visit to Pakistan to press President Pervez Musharraf for help in combating a new Taliban offensive in Afghanistan and a resurgent al Qaeda.

Mr Cheney was meeting with President Musharraf at the presidential palace in Islamabad, an official told reporters traveling with the vice president.

The United States is bolstering its troop presence in Afghanistan by 3,200 to help repel fierce spring fighting anticipated by the United States and NATO after the bloodiest year there since the Taliban was ousted by US-led forces in 2001.

The New York Times today that President George W Bush had decided to send an unusually tough message to General Musharraf, warning him that the newly elected Democratic US Congress could cut aid unless his forces were far more aggressive in hunting down operatives with al Qaeda.

Taliban forces and elements of al Qaeda, blamed for the Sept 11 attacks on the United States, are suspected of operating from the remote mountainous border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The United States has about 27,000 troops in Afghanistan, of which about 15,000 are in the NATO force and the rest on missions ranging from counter-terrorism to training.

Mr Cheney's stop was added to an Asia trip during which he visited Japan and Australia, two staunch US allies that have lent their support in Afghanistan and in the increasingly unpopular Iraq war.

Under President Musharraf, Pakistan became a key ally in Washington's war on terror after the September 11 attacks by withdrawing its support for the Taliban government, sharing intelligence with US officials and rounding up suspected Islamic militants.

US FRUSTRATION Although Bush publicly praises President Musharraf's support on counter-terrorism, US officials have voiced frustration over Taliban sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the porous border with Afghanistan.

Experts say the Taliban has a virtual mini-state in northern Pakistan, using a recent peace deal with Islamabad to expand suicide-bomber training and fortifying its alliance with al Qaeda.

''It's clearly unacceptable the amount of difficulty being created for our troops and for NATO in Afghanistan by the lack of Pakistani resolve with the Taliban,'' Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana told a Senate hearing.

President Bush has been criticized for pursuing war in Iraq at the expense of Afghanistan, a charge the administration denies.

His new push in Afghanistan has solid support in Congress, unlike his plan to send another 21,500 US troops to Iraq, which has drawn ferocious opposition from Democrats.

REUTERS SHB BST1402