ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen arrived here on Monday and it is believed he is on a mission to urge Pakistan to arrest elements accused by India of being involved in last month’s Mumbai attacks for cooling down the mounting tension between the two countries.

“Admiral Mullen arrived this afternoon for scheduled meetings with senior Pakistani officials on regional issues,” US embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said.

Admiral Mullen, who had flown in from Afghanistan, met Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha in the evening.

This is Admiral Mullen’s second visit to Islamabad this month.

According to sources, he stressed the need for Pakistan to do more to satisfy India which was demanding arrest of elements it said were involved in the Mumbai attacks. They said he might have sought commitments from the Pakistani leadership on the Indian demands which are also a pre-condition for resuming the peace process. The role of ISI is also reported to have come under discussion with the US commander reiterating a demand for bringing it under civilian control.

According to the sources, during their meetings with Admiral Mullen, Pakistani officials stressed that they had sufficiently acted even without enough evidence provided by India about involvement of elements from its territory in the attacks.

The US commander was also apprised of Pakistan’s possible reaction in case of being attacked by India, they said.

They said Admiral Mullen also took stock of peace deals with the Taliban and discussed payment of $900 million arrears to be made to Pakistan for logistical support to the US after verification of claims.