ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday for a first-hand look at areas that were devastated by the October 8 earthquake.

Mr Rumsfeld, who arrived here unannounced, was received at Chaklala airbase near Islamabad by his Pakistani counterpart Rao Sikandar Iqbal.

He later flew to Muzaffarabad and visited the main US MASH hospital.

He also visited a US surgical unit at Shinkiari in northwest Pakistan which has been treating the injured.

Mr Rumsfeld also met pilots and crew of US Chinook helicopters at Qasim airbase in Rawalpindi near Islamabad, which have been shuttling the bulk of the relief supplies for millions of quake survivors.

On Tuesday US Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with President Pervez Musharraf and also visited quake-hit areas.

The United States has been one of the major contributors to the relief effort in Pakistan, a key ally in the US-led “war on terror.”

Mr Rumsfeld said there were currently around 850 US military personnel, 12 helicopters and two medical facilities set up to help the effort in Pakistan, where more than 73,000 people were killed.

He called Pakistan “a moderate Muslim regime in the world that is demonstrating ... partnership.”

“I think it is important that the world recognizes the relationships the United States has had in the past with moderate Muslim states and what we do,” he told reporters aboard his plane en route to Pakistan.

Mr Rumsfeld said the world should “see that the activities of the United States are to support those ... who are opposed to the people who cut off heads ... and engage in violent extremist activities.”—AFP