LAHORE, May 9: President Gen Pervez Musharraf is to pay a week-long visit to three North African countries — Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco — in the next few days.

An official announcement about the visit is expected in the next two or three days. Official sources told Dawn that the president could leave as early as the next week.

Details of the president’s programme were being finalized when the suicide bomb attack in Karachi on Wednesday took place. It cast a shadow of doubt over the visit but Dawn learns that it has been decided not to change plans.

Saudi Arabia will be on President Musharraf’s route during the return journey. He is likely to take up issues of mutual interest as well as terrorism with the Saudi authorities and seek the Kingdom’s support for his plans for eliminating terrorism from Pakistan.

The visit to North African countries and Saudi Arabia has become all the more important after the suicide bombing, as security concerns and arrangements would be part of President Musharraf’s agenda, particularly in Algeria that has experienced widespread violence from the rightwing extremists during the last few years.

Algeria has largely overcome the problem that had assumed alarming proportions at one stage but the spectre of terrorism continues to haunt the country and the government is still on a warpath against violence from fundamentalist elements.

Other countries on the president’s trip have, however, been relatively free of terrorism though they too had their share of bloodshed in recent years.

The diplomatic missions of the three countries have been busy chalking out the programme of president during his stay in their country all through this week. Their ambassadors, Aissa Sefferdjeli of Algeria, Ahmed El Rhaidi of Morocco, and Lamine Benzarti of Tunisia, are in the process of returning to their respective capitals to be present to receive Gen Musharraf on arrival.