WAS PAKISTAN BRITAIN The Chief of Britain's Defence Staff, Sir Charles Guthrie, has met the Pakistani military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, in Islamabad.

It's the highest-level contact between the two countries since General Musharraf seized power in October.

Sir Charles said after the meeting that he had pressed General Musharraf for a timetable for a return to civilian rule.

His visit coincides with that of a political delegation from the United States, and the announcement that a senior American official the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Karl Inderforth will visit Pakistan later this year. The BBC Islamabad correspondent says Pakistani officials are welcoming the flurry of diplomatic activity as evidence of the military government's increasing international legitimacy but they will face concerted pressure to reinstate democracy and sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service