Prime Minister Manhoman Singh's visit to the United States and the prevailing security situation in the aftermath of the July 7 London [Images] bombings figured in the telephonic conversation between American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [Images] and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] .

Rice spoke to Musharraf over the phone on Tuesday night after Musharraf had a lengthy meeting with the visiting Chief of US CENTCOM, Gen John P Abizaid, who frequently comes to Pakistan to review progress on the war on terror, especially in the Pak-Afghan border, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.

• Dr Singh wows Congress

During their conversation, Rice and Musharraf discussed a host of regional and international issues, including Dr Singh's US visit. Their conversation centred around security related issues and Pakistan's much promised crackdown on extremism and terrorism.

In Washington, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said Musharraf's response to the Indo-US agreement on civilian nuclear energy cooperation was 'constructive and not overly problematic' during his
conversation with Rice.

• The Road to Peace

Official media in Islamabad reported that the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan too figured in the talks
between Rice and Musharraf.

Significantly, during his meeting with Abizaid, Musharraf said the US must help Pakistan fulfill its military and defence needs to maintain balance of power in the region.

"We want close defence and military ties with the US," an official statement said.