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CNN Live At Daybreak

Blair in Islamabad to Cool Tensions

Aired January 07, 2002 - 06:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as I said, is in Islamabad today trying to diffuse tensions between nuclear rivals, Pakistan and India. CNN's Tom Mintier is covering Mr. Blair's visit. Tom, what's the latest?

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, Mr. Blair will not be here very long. He is scheduled to leave Islamabad late this evening. But I got an idea of how tight the security is just a couple of moments ago. Mr. Blair has not been here all but three hours and he's having lunch now beside the pool about six floors down behind me. I stepped over to the edge to see Mr. Blair at one table around the swimming pool and an Islamabad policeman with an automatic weapon encouraged me verbally to move away from the edge of the top of the building here. Basically saying, "you're not allowed to look at that."

Now Mr. Blair has a mission here, possibly, to try to diffuse the tensions between India and Pakistan. As you said, he just finished a meeting in New Delhi with the prime minister there, and he's coming here to meet with the president. Now shortly after his arrival here in Islamabad, which was about 30 minutes late, he made his way into the American Center, which is the USIS building here, the information service of the U.S. government. They have a building in downtown Islamabad and it's being used for daily briefings by the coalition. Information briefings, that's where they provide information about the coalition activities inside Afghanistan.

Now Mr. Blair preferred not to talk about India and Pakistan, saying he would have an availability later on after he met with President Pervez Musharraf. But he wanted to talk about Afghanistan, saying that the military campaign is already a success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Militarily, the campaign has been immensely successful. We still have objectives to be secured, but nonetheless, the fact is the terrorist network of al Qaeda in Afghanistan is effectively broken. The Taliban regime is no more. Politically, Afghanistan has at least the prospect now of a stable and proper political regime for the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MINTIER: Now a press conference couldn't go without somebody pressing the issue, and it was indeed pressed. How his visit here is seen as far as it relates to India and Pakistan, and trying to reduce the tension.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAIR: The support of Pakistan and of India for the international coalition against terrorism has been of importance -- immense importance. And the stability of this region, its importance for the region of the wider world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MINTIER: Now where Mr. Blair goes next is a closely guarded secret. Number 10 Downing Street didn't even confirm Mr. Blair's visit here after Pakistan announced it more than a week ago. Now where he might go next, some U.S. officials say that it's possible that he will go to Kabul and visit Afghanistan. When I asked one of Mr. Blair's people where he would be going next, they said he has to be back at the House of Commons on Wednesday, that he would not be going to Kabul. But when I asked and pressed about Afghanistan, they simply got on the elevator and left.

So it's quite possible he may be going to Baghran or somewhere else in Afghanistan, but not actually make a visit to Kabul, but we'll just have to wait and see tonight when he's wheels up (ph) from Islamabad what the next destination is -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I'm sure we'll find him wherever he ends up. Thank you very much. Tom Mintier, reporting live for us from Islamabad this morning.

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