Pakistan Views

US Vice President Dick Cheney said on Thursday he expected the new Pakistan government to be ‘good and effective’ US allies, as he made a surprise visit to neighbouring Afghanistan. “I expect they’ll be good and effective friends and allies of the United States, just as the previous government has been,” Cheney told a news conference.”I have no reason to doubt their commitment to dealing with the problems that emerge,” the vice president said, referring specifically to the tribal area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.He said the new government, which has already vowed to take on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally in the US-led “war on terror”, had “as big a stake as anyone else” in fighting militancy.Musharraf faces a fight for his political survival after his backers were trounced at the polls last month, with voters showing their anger over growing militancy and a host of economic problems.