Negroponte, Boucher to meet Musharraf

Islamabad, June 15 (UNI) US Deputy Secretary of State John D Negroponte will arrive here today to discuss the rising threat of the Taliban movement in the border areas of Pakistan and its impact on the security situation in Afghanistan, a media report said.

Daily Times quoted sources as saying that Negroponte's visit had no role in the domestic issues and he was not coming to help defuse the political and judicial crisis.

''The US is more concerned about Taliban encroachment on settled areas like Tank, Bannu and DI Khan. Even after more than five years since the fall of Taliban, Western forces were still facing the uphill task of quelling the Taliban-led insurgency,'' the sources said.

Negroponte along with Boucher would meet President Parvez Musharraf tomorrow and the ''do more'' demand would be a part of the consultations.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri would also leave for the US on June 17. Mr Kasuri would meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, some western diplomats and would also give lengthy briefings to CIA officials on the Taliban and security- related issues.

UNI