RAWALPINDI, Jan 27: The Commander-in-Chief of the United States Central Command (Centcom), General Tommy R. Franks, called on President Gen Pervez Musharraf here on Monday and discussed with him issues concerning Afghanistan.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate, General Franks was in Pakistan on a routine liaison visit in order to further improve the on-going coordination between the coalition forces and Pakistan armed forces with regard to operations by the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The two leaders remained together for some time and exchanged views on matters of professional interest.

A senior military official when contacted told Dawn that it would be wrong to presume that the Centcom chief was here to secure Pakistan’s support for the possible attack on Iraq.

He agreed that since Pakistan was an important member of the 15-member United Nations Security Council, Islamabad’s support could be critical over the issue of Iraq. “But then this matter has to be discussed by the US government and not the Centcom chief”, he said, adding that what was happening in Afghanistan was in fact the main topic of discussion between General Franks and President Musharraf.

According to informed sources, the Centcom chief, who arrived here on Sunday and was heading an eight-member team, was here to discuss with the Pakistan authorities various issues including support of Pakistan on Iraq.

The sources said that Gen Franks would discuss enhancing bilateral military cooperation through Defence Consultative Group which had been recently revived after three years.

The issue of joint training and acquisition of military hardware, including those of F-16 aircraft, would also be discussed by three services chiefs and the chairman joint chief of staff committee (JCSC) with General Franks during his three-day visit to Pakistan.