US Secretary for Defence Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday arrived in Pakistan as part of a whirlwind four-day tour of five countries that have offered support to US military operations in Afghanistan. Rumsfeld arrived from Tashkent where he said that the US campaign against the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan was making ``measurable progress``. He was expected to meet Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who has given the United States permission to use Pakistani air space and allowed the use of three air bases in the south for logistical purposes, and search and rescue missions.
In Tashkent, Rumsfeld met Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who has offered one airbase to the United States for search and rescue and humanitarian operations. At least 1,000 US troops are thought to be there. During an eight-hour stay in Moscow on Saturday he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed Russian intelligence support for the US-led campaign. Bureau Report