NEW DELHI, March 15: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday he expected to hold "full discussions" with President Pervez Musharraf on nuclear leaks when they meet in Islamabad later this week.
Speaking to reporters on the plane en route to New Delhi, where he arrived on Monday at the start of a three-nation South Asian tour that also includes Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mr Powell said he would have "full discussions of the A. Q. Khan matter" with President Musharraf.
"I will be interested to see whether there is any involvement of past officials or any official involvement in this over the past years," Mr Powell said.
The Secretary of State is due in Islamabad on Wednesday for a two-day visit after he completes the Indian leg of his tour. He is to hold talks with President Musharraf, Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.
His visit coincides with a fresh spring offensive by US and Afghan forces in southern and southeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border to nab Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders.
"Pakistan has undertaken a number of operations recently along the border ... and we just want to see them do more of that," Mr Powell said on the plane to India.
"We want to see if they can do a better job of apprehending Taliban persons who we might be able to identify for them, and anything that can be done to stabilize the situation along the border," he added.
Operation Mountain Storm was announced last Saturday by the US military in Afghanistan. The new offensive is accompanied by fierce speculation that the United States is pressing Pakistan to allow its troops to hunt Osama on its territory near the frontier with Afghanistan.
ARRIVES IN INDIA: Mr Powell arrived in New Delhi late on Monday on a two-day visit during which he is expected to hold talks on bilateral relations and the India-Pakistan peace process.
He is set to have separate meetings on Tuesday with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, national security adviser Brajesh Mishra and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh. -AFP
