Blair to meet Pakistani leader
Tony Blair will meet the Pakistani president later today.
Pervez Musharraf arrived in Britain after having held talks with the US president George Bush in Washington over the weekend.
The Prime Minister and General Musharraf are expected to discuss the war on terrorism, global trade, the pivotal issue of the Middle East peace process, Afghanistan and Kashmir – the territory India and Pakistan both claim territorial rights to.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is also expected to meet General Musharraf during his stay.
The Pakistani leader is also expected to stress that greater progress needs to be made on issues like poverty and illiteracy that provide the breeding ground for terrorism.
On his first official visit to the UK, General Musharraf is expected to deliver a keynote speech in London, before traveling to Manchester on Tuesday to meet community leaders. Some 800,000 British citizens are of Pakistani origin.
On Sunday, President Musharraf said he had won assurances from Washington that the US would take a more pro-active role in the Middle East peace process.
President Bush told journalists after their meeting: “I told him this would be a priority of my administration,” adding, there was “an opportunity at hand to work toward development of a Palestinian state and peace in the Middle East.”
The president also praised his Pakistani counterpart for collaborating in the search for Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, believed to be hiding in a remote mountainous region near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The general is midway through a worldwide diplomatic tour that includes stop-offs in South America and Europe. He will be warmly welcomed in both the US and UK as he has been one of the most important world allies in the war against terror – particularly in the hunt for Al-Qaeda.
