Pakistan Can Be Model for Islamic World, Rice Says (A dictatorship)

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan, a key ally in U.S.-led war on terrorism, is a pivotal country in South Asia and can be a model for the Islamic world, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a visit to Islamabad.

Rice, ``appreciated Pakistan's constructive role in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan,'' Pakistan's government said in a statement issued late yesterday after Rice held separate meetings with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Rice arrived from India for two days of talks to boost relations between the countries. She is scheduled to meet Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri today after making a brief visit to Afghanistan.

The U.S. in 2004 designated Pakistan a major ally outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Pakistan has supported the U.S.-led war against terrorism that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon and extended intelligence and logistical support to U.S. forces for their operation in Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda terrorists it was harboring.

more

Don