US and Pakistan 'share Afghan goal'

US and Pakistan: Common goal, strengthened ties

Pakistan and the United States have said their common goal is a broad-based multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan, freely chosen by the Afghan people without outside interference.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, speaking after talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Islamabad, pledged to support the US campaign as long as it lasts, but said he hoped the military action would be "short and targeted".

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

Colin Powell

Mr Powell told the news conference in Islamabad that the issue of Kashmir was crucial to the stability of South Asia and he called on Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute through dialogue.

Mr Powell's tour, which has now taken him to Delhi, has coincided with the worst fighting between Indian and Pakistani forces in the disputed territory of Kashmir for nearly a year.

Broad-based government

President Musharraf said he regretted that by not handing over Osama Bin Laden, the authorities in Afghanistan had jeopardised the interests of their own people.

He said he and Mr Powell had agreed that any future Afghan administration must be broad-based and would include members of the opposition and some members of the Taleban.

There is fierce opposition in Pakistan to the US-led air strikes

"Former King Zahir Shah, political leaders, moderate Taleban leaders, elements from the (opposition) Northern Alliance, tribal elders, Afghans living outside their country ... all can play a role in this government," General Musharraf said.

But he warned that no warring faction should take advantage of the US raids to try to impose themselves on Afghanistan - an indirect reference to the opposition Northern Alliance which Pakistan wants excluded from any major role in an Afghan government.

The Northern Alliance's Defence Minister, General Fahim, has said his forces may take the key city of Mazar-e-Sharif from the Taleban on Tuesday evening.

But the BBC Afghanistan correspondent Kate Clark says claims of Alliance victories along the road to Mazar have to be treated with as much caution as Taleban denials.

Support

In his comments, Mr Powell paid tribute to what he called the bold and courageous stance of Pakistan in the campaign against terrorism, and promised US support to strengthen Pakistan's economy.

The BBC's State Department correspondent, Jon Leyne, says General Musharraf gave Mr Powell exactly the support the Americans were looking for.

On the subject of Kashmir, Mr Powell said: "We discussed ways to promote stability in South Asia, which as you all know is a critically important part of the world."

"We too believe that the Kashmir issue is central to the relationship and can be resolved if all parties engaged with a willingness to address their concerns in mutually acceptable ways."

In a sign of the fierce opposition among ordinary Pakistanis to America's military action against Afghanistan, thousands of shopkeepers staged a strike in protest at Mr Powell's visit - his first abroad since the attacks on 11 September.