In a meeting with the Pakistani leader yesterday the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, moved to reassure Pakistan concerning the military action being taken against Afghanistan.
In the most high-powered US visit to Pakistan following the September 11th terrorist strike on New York and the Pentagon, Mr Powell told President Pervez Musharraf that his co-operation with the anti-terrorism coalition marked the start of a new era in ties between Washington and Islamabad.
During talks in the Pakistan capital, President Musharraf and Mr Powell agreed that any future Afghan government should include the opposition as well as moderate elements of the ruling Taliban. The meeting of the two men sealed a new era of warm relations between the two countries.
At a joint news conference Mr Powell said Mr Musharraf's decision to join the coalition, despite the threat of violent and potentially destabilising protests, had been "bold and courageous" and would be rewarded. He promised that in the coming months, the United States would take concrete steps to strengthen Pakistan's economy and further broaden commercial and trade ties.
Mr Powell also identified the dispute over Kashmir as "central" to relations between India and Pakistan.
President Musharraf said his government's decision to support the anti-terror coalition had been one of principle and added that Pakistan was in for the long haul.
However he voiced the hope that the campaign would be short and avoid civilian casualties.
Mr Powell pledged that the United States would only back a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan that was friendly to its neighbours.
"There is no doubt that we both have a common goal to see that the Afghan government is one that will represent all the people of Afghanistan and a regime that obviously will be friendly to all its neighbours including Pakistan," Mr Powell said.
He said all elements of Afghan society, including the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and tribal leaders, must be included in any discussion of the country's future.
Mr Musharraf said he and Powell had agreed that durable peace in Afghanistan was only possible through "broad-based, multi-ethnic government," established without outside interference.
The process of establishing a new regime could involve the former Afghan king Zahir Shah, the Northern Alliance and moderate elements in the Taliban, he added.
Mr Powell and President Musharraf declined to comment on reports of mass defections within the Taliban. But Mr Powell maintained the fundamentalist Islamic militia was losing support both inside Afghanistan and abroad. However, he could not predict when the pressure would cause the regime to collapse.
Mr Powell arrived in Pakistan amid intense security with radical Islamic groups that back the Taliban furious at President Musharraf's backing of the military action in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile some 1,500 tribesmen waving Taliban flags strode across the border into Pakistan yesterday to condemn Gen Musharraf.
AFP adds: Two Air India passengers apparently disappeared after checking in at Bombay airport, despite enhanced security surrounding Mr Powell's visit, airline sources said yesterday.
The airline was baffled that two passengers checked in on Sunday in Bombay for a flight to Delhi and on to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but then were never heard from. Their boarding passes were found by New Delhi security officers indicating that the two passengers had travelled on board the flight.
However, Air India said the error arose because a passenger had bought two extra tickets and used two extra boarding cards with "apparent mischievous intent".