Blair flies to frontline Pakistan

Blair leaves his official London residence, 10 Downing Street, for an emergency session of Parliament

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is heading to Pakistan to shore up resolve for the U.S.-led war on terror. He will also stop in India Friday night and is expected to visit Oman as well.

Blair's speedy tour comes on the heels of a stop in Moscow where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and is believed to have presented him with evidence against Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, Washington's top suspect in the September 11 terror attacks.

In Pakistan Blair will meet Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, who has come under pressure at home for siding with the U.S.-inspired coalition.

Pakistan is the sole country to have diplomatic relations with neighboring Afghanistan where the ruling Taliban have refused to surrender Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the hijack strikes on the United States.

The Taliban leadership has been warned that it faces U.S. military action for harboring bin Laden.

Pakistani press has also reported the possibility of a meeting between Blair and the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan.

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk AUDIO UK Prime Minister Tony Blair: "The attacks bear all the hallmarks of bin Laden" 1.76MB / 2 mins 43 secs WAV sound   MORE STORIES Blair: Bin Laden behind attacks

Local newspapers speculated in front page articles that the British prime minister might hold a meeting with the Taliban ambassador, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef.

Because of the lack of television in Afghanistan, there is some thought that the country's ruling Taliban militia may not have heard Blair's strongly worded speech delivered on Tuesday to his ruling Labour Party conference in Brighton, England.

In the address, Blair warned the Taliban to turn in Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and his followers or face military strikes aimed at the country's infrastructure and military hardware. He blamed bin Laden for the September 11 U.S. attacks that left thousands of people dead or missing.

"Surrender the terrorists or surrender your power," he said, referring to the military targets as "the machinery of terrorism."

On Tuesday, during an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, Zaeef said the Afghan rulers were willing to negotiate with the United States on bin Laden's handover, if they were provided with evidence that linked him and his al Qaeda network to the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Without proof of bin Laden's involvement in the attacks, he said the Taliban cannot hand him over to the United States.

Blair told an emergency session of Parliament on Thursday that three of the 19 hijackers involved in the attacks on the United States were positively identified as "known associates" of bin Laden.

Blair told MPs that of those three, one had played a key role in the East African embassy attacks and last year's attack on the USS Cole.

He said Saudi-born dissident bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda organisation planned and carried out the attacks and were able to do so because of their close relationship with the Taliban regime.

His trip to Pakistan amid a frantic whirl of diplomacy with Blair having visited Moscow en route to Islamabad and expected to visit India after the Pakistan stop.

Meanwhile U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been in the Middle East to reassure key regional allies ahead of expected military action against Afghanistan.

In Moscow Putin said he was confident that the U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan could be successful.

"We will be able to tell this once the actions become a reality," Putin told a news conference. "But I have no doubt at all that they can be effective.

"The main condition is the joining of efforts of many countries and sincere desire to work together effectively."

Russia has emerged as a key player in the crisis, with Putin expressing strong support for U.S.-led military strikes against Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network and their Afghanistan hosts.

The Russian leader is also seen as an influential figure in the former Soviet states bordering Afghanistan, such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which could provide a launch pad for military action.

Following a summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Putin spoke of the need for "closer ties" between Russia and the alliance in the wake of events in America as part of a new security structure evolving across Europe.

Sources in the Gulf said Blair would also visit Oman, where about 20,000 British troops are holding long-planned military manoeuvres.