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As the United States-led strikes in Afghanistan entered the second week, Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Islamabad on Monday night amid tight security for talks with the leaders of Pakistan on the situation in the region.
Official sources said that Powell was going to talk about the future shape of Afghanistan once the Taleban regime fell.
He was also likely to talk about the international coalition against terrorism and Pakistan's role in it.
Earlier, the secretary of state said Washington was willing to increase its military cooperation with Islamabad and hinted that an announcement on a new joint training programme was imminent.
Powell said he was willing to discuss with Musharraf any aspect of military cooperation, from arms sales to personnel exchanges, although many weapon transfers are still barred by sanctions.
"I am more than happy to discuss anything that the president would wish to discuss, but arms sales is not an area I think we would have any results in," Powell told reporters traveling with him.
Meanwhile, a shutdown was observed in several cities across Pakistan on Monday ahead of Powell's visit.
Reports said that rallies and demonstrations were held throughout the country to condemn the bombings in Afghanistan.
The government had deployed heavy police and paramilitary troops across the country to prevent violence by the agitators.
In Jacobabad about 10,000 people staged noisy protests against the government for supporting the US effort against the Taleban.
Unconfirmed reports said that at least three US military planes carrying some 300 commandoes had landed at the Jacoababad airport.
The reporter of a local newspaper, Jabbar Raisani, said the planes were still parked at the airport. The airport had been closed to civilian traffic and all routes leading to it had been sealed.
Agencies
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