WASHINGTON, May 23: The United States stands by President Pervez Musharraf in the current conflict with opposition forces in Pakistan but wants him to do more to quell Taliban and Al Qaeda violence in Afghanistan, said a top US official on Wednesday.

“We have a very close relationship with President Musharraf.…We strongly supported President Musharraf and will continue to do so,” US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told a gathering in Washington.

Although his speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think-tank, was almost exclusively on US-India relations, he used the occasion also to stress the importance of America’s ties with Pakistan.

“Pakistan is a great friend of the United States,” said Mr Burns, adding that Washington wants this relationship to continue despite its growing ties with India.

“We hope that there can be progress in building Pakistan’s own democracy over the months and years ahead,” said Mr Burns while commenting on the current situation which commentators in Washington describe as the most intense threat to President Musharraf since he seized power in a coup in 1999.