WASHINGTON, Sept 10: Five years after 9/11, Pakistan continues to be a key US ally in the war against terror that can help the Bush administration regain its popularity at home by capturing senior Al Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden.

US Vice President Dick Cheney acknowledged Pakistan’s importance in the war in an interview on Sunday when he said, President Pervez Musharraf “puts his neck on the line every day he goes to work … there have been attempts on his life because of his support of the US.”

Earlier this week, President George W. Bush also praised Pakistan’s role in the war against terror and hoped that last week’s truce between Islamabad and pro-Taliban militants would help isolate senior Al Qaeda leaders from their tribal supporters and thus would increase their vulnerability.

Disagreeing with those who say that the deal would lead to the creation of a safe haven for the militants, Mr Bush said: “I don’t read it that way. What he (President Musharraf) is doing is entering agreements with governors in the regions of the country, in the hopes that there would be an economic vitality, there will be alternatives to violence and terror,” he said.

As Mr Bush also said, the deal and the possibility of isolating Al Qaeda leaders will dominate his talks with Gen Musharraf when the two presidents meet in Washington on Sept 22.

Vice President Cheney, however, linked the continuation of Pakistan’s alliance with the US to America’s presence in Iraq, claiming that Pakistan and Afghanistan would suffer if Washington abandoned Iraq. Appearing on NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” Mr Cheney wondered whether Gen “Musharraf and his people” are “going to say, ‘My gosh, the US hasn’t got the stomach for the fight. Osama’s right; Al Qaeda’s right. The US has lost its will and will not complete the mission.”

Many blame Mr Bush’s adventure in Iraq for derailing America’s efforts to defeat terrorism.