Islamabad, Feb 26 (Xinhua) US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived here Monday on a surprise visit to Pakistan, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

He is meeting with Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf to discuss Pakistan-US bilateral relations, regional and international issues, said the APP report.

The visit comes amid reports in the west that there were new Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan's tribal areas.

A recent report by The New York Times claimed that US President George W. Bush had decided to send an "unusually tough message" to his Pakistani counterpart that the US Congress with Democrats in majority could cut aid to Pakistan unless its forces became more aggressive in hunting down Al Qaeda and Taliban elements.

Since joining Washington-led "war on terror" following the Sept. 11 attacks on the US in 2001, Pakistan has sent around 80,000 troops to tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to trace the Al Qaeda and Taliban militants who sneaked into Pakistan seeking shelter after Afghanistan's Taliban regime fell.

The Western world and Afghanistan have repeatedly claimed that the militants fighting in Afghanistan were operating from Pakistani soil and Pakistan has not done enough to fight terrorists.

The Pakistani government has categorically rejected the allegations.

More than 700 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in hunting militants in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan since 2001, according to Pakistani officials.

Pakistan said fighting terrorism is in its own interest and it has sacrificed much for the international war on terror.

The Pakistani President has said that there should be no doubt about Pakistan's resolve for anti-terror fighting, however, he has suggested there might be some problem with "technical implementation".

Pakistan called for joint efforts of concerned parties, namely, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan-based international forces in stopping the cross-border movement of militants on their side of the Pakistan-Afghan border.