Pakistan News And Discussion-10

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<b>Cheney asks Pakistan to stop al Qaeda 'regrouping'</b>
Story Highlights
• U.S. vice president ask Pakistan to help combat Taliban spring offensive
• NEW: Bad weather prevents Cheney visit with Afghan leader
• Al Qaeda may be regrouping in Pakistan tribal areas, U.S. says
• New York Times says Bush warning Pakistan it risks U.S. aid
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney warned Monday that al Qaeda is "regrouping" in Pakistan's remote border and sought President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's help in a stiffened push against Taliban and al Qaeda militants, Musharraf's office said.

Cheney's unannounced stopover en route to Afghanistan came as British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett also held talks with Musharraf and expressed concern about suspected militant safe havens near the Afghan frontier.

"Cheney expressed U.S. apprehensions of regrouping of al Qaeda in the tribal areas and called for concerted efforts in countering the threat," according to a faxed statement from the presidential office.

"He expressed serious U.S. concerns on the intelligence being picked up of an impending Taliban and al Qaeda 'spring offensive' against allied forces in Afghanistan," the statement said.

Cheney made no public comment after the talks in Musharraf's office in Islamabad.
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