ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is pulling out all stops to offset rising tensions with the US and possible economic and military sanctions by reaching out to its closest allies, Saudi Arabia and China. Days after the stinging accusation that the ISI was backing Afghan insurgents, Islamabad tried to please Beijing by vowing to root out Uighur militants holed up in its territory and staged war games with Saudi Arabia, besides sending and receiving top intelligence officials from the Gulf kingdom.

"China's enemy is Islamabad's enemy," interior minister Rehman Malik told visiting Chinese vice-prime minister Meng Jianzhu on Tuesday, and vowed to "strike very hard against" Uighur militants based in his country. Alongside, ISI chief Shuja Pasha was dispatched to Riyadh to hold talks with Saudi officials.

Malik said Pakistan had killed and extradited several Uighur militants responsible for attacks in China’s western Xinjiang province. The Uighur rebels are known to be receiving training in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas. Earlier, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said the two countries were true friends and that they count on each other after. “Thank you once again...for (the) supportive statement in favour of Pakistan's sovereignty and integrity.”

Analysts say Islamabad is trying to ensure that China fills any diplomatic and economic void if the US severs or downgrades ties. China and Pakistan have long enjoyed good ties and share wariness of India and a desire to prevent growing US influence in the region. Beijing had called Osama bin Laden’s killing a “progressive development” but defended Islamabad on charges of failing to find the global fugitive.

President Asif Ali Zardari acknowledged that Pakistan was grappling with many challenges simultaneously and that Chinese assistance was “most welcome in stabilizing the situation”. He said China was a source of stability in the region. Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani echoed Zardari and thanked Meng for China’s “unwavering support” after their meeting on Monday.

Pakistan’s other long-standing ally Saudi Arabia sent top intelligence officials to Islamabad to hold talks with its leadership on King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud’s directions. Pakistani media reported that the two sides exchanged views on rising US-Pakistan tensions. Earlier, General Pasha took a special plane along with a high-level military delegation to discuss the issue with Saudi intelligence and armed forces. The News reported that the decision to send Gen Pasha to Saudi Arabia was taken at an emergency meeting of corps commanders on Sunday. The Pakistani army conducted joint military exercises with Saudi Arabia near Jhelum in Punjab province a day later.

The tailspin in Pakistan-US ties came with Washington accusing the ISI of backing attacks in Afghanistan, including the one on Kabul’s American Embassy last week. The escalating tensions represent a new low in the US-Pakistani relations that had begun to recover after Osama bin Laden’s killing in northwestern Pakistan in May. Islamabad relies heavily on Washington for military and economic aid. There has been a growing clamor in the US to curb it, following the accusation.

The Pakistani leadership seemed to have taken heart from Meng’s comments that the two countries were “good brothers” and their bilateral ties were one of Beijing’s diplomatic priorities. Meng said, “We will work together to contribute to national security and regional stability.” The Chinese leader assured Pakistan that his country would stand by it “in any hour of need” on his arrival in Islamabad on Monday. The two countries signed a number of agreements for economic and technical cooperation. Beijing also pledged around $250 million aid to Pakistan.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei supported Pakistan’s “important contributions in the international fight against terrorism”. Hong said China understands and supports Pakistan’s counter terrorism strategy “based on its national conditions”.