President Pervez Musharraf will visit Kyrgyzstan next month, the visit that may also take in Uzbekistan, officials said on Monday. Musharraf is due in the mountainous Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan for talks with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev on March 8, Pakistan's embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek told AFP. Discussions are still underway on Musharraf possibly visiting Uzbekistan, an Uzbek foreign ministry official said. Both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan host US forces at airbases used for supporting operations in Afghanistan - also a key concern for Musharraf's administration.

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan - former Soviet republics - have long been wary of Islamic militants infiltrating their territory from war-torn Afghanistan, especially since a series of recent blasts and shoot-outs in Uzbekistan left around 50 people dead last year.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005