DUBAI, Jan 13: A US envoy said on Sunday he would seek aid from Gulf Arab countries to help rebuild Afghanistan and support Pakistan’s leader following his pledge to crack down on religious extremism.

“We need to support Pakistan at this time and support President Musharraf,” Lincoln Bloomfield, US assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs, told a news conference in Dubai.

“We also need to support humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, where the Afghan people now have an opportunity to rebuild their country,” he said after talks with UAE leaders.

The UAE is the first leg of Bloomfield’s nine-nation tour.—Reuters