July 3, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 21,1423

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ISLAMABAD, July 2: Britain’s Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon arrived here on Tuesday to try to further defuse tensions between India and Pakistan on the second leg of a regional tour.

He was greeted by Pakistani officials as he arrived at the Islamabad airport from Afghanistan, where he met British troops and government officials earlier in the day.

Hoon met British troops at the Bagram air base involved in the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants, and also some of the dwindling number of British peacekeepers involved in the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul.

ISAF spokeswoman Maj Angela Herbert said Hoon had also met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Turkish commander of ISAF, Maj-Gen Halmi Akin Zorlu.

In Islamabad, Hoon is due to hold talks with President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday. He is due to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi on Thursday.

“Mr Hoon’s visit to Pakistan and India comes in the wake of similar visits by the prime minister and the foreign secretary to help defuse tensions between India and Pakistan,” a statement issued by the ministry of defence in London said.

Hoon was also due to discuss defence issues with both India and Pakistan, it said.—Reuters