Straw starts Asian tour
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has arrived in Pakistan at the start of a three-day visit to South East Asia.
Mr Straw will meet with President Pervez Musharrraf – a key ally in the war on terror – as well as Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and counterpart, Kursheed Kasuri.
On the agenda are discussions on illegal migration, trade, nuclear arms and the peace process with atomically armed neighbour, India.
He is due to give a speech on Islam in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday.
The Foreign Secretary is also expected to call for action on the increase in opium production in Afghanistan.
The Government believes up to 70 per cent of the heroin smuggled into Britain comes through Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Following talks with Mr Musharrraf, Mr Straw heads to Afghanistan, where he is expected to discuss military operations to capture Al-Qaeda militants in South Waziristan
In Afghanistan, Mr Straw will meet Hamid Karzai for the first time since his victory in the historic presidential elections.
Finishing the whistlestop tour, Mr Straw travels on to India.
Officials have described Mr Straw’s brief as covering the three Cs – counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation and counter-narcotics.
