Pakistani president to meet king in Norway

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrives in Norway on Monday for an official visit to promote economic cooperation and thank the government for relief aid to survivors of the Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake. During the three-day visit, at the invitation of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Musharraf will hold talks with Stoltenberg and meet King Harald and the Speaker of Parliament Thorbjorn Jagland. Musharraf also plans to meet members of the Pakistani community in Oslo and address the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. The visit is part of a weeklong tour to the Middle East and Europe, where Musharraf also will attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The visit is being held amid tight security, with police advising people to stay away from the city center during the three days. Extra officers have been deployed. Norway's NRK radio described Musharraf as one of "the biggest targets of terrorism," and the U.S. Embassy in the Norwegian capital warned visitors of delays and said that anyone walking near the embassy "may be randomly stopped by police officers, may need to show identification, and may have their access to the Embassy temporarily blocked." It also warned of possible demonstrations, saying that they could "turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence", reports the AP. N.U.