US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would fly to Pakistan today to show support for a military ally hit by the deadliest earthquake in the region for a century.
Hamid Karzai walks in the yard of his palace with Condoleezza Rice in Kabul today
The top US diplomat, who is in neighbouring Afghanistan on a previously scheduled trip, will hold talks with President Pervez Musharraf on a visit -- planned to last less than two hours -- to the capital, Islamabad.
Condoleezza Rice
Ms Rice told reporters aboard her plane before landing in Kabul that her message to the Pakistani people was that "the international community and the people of the United States are with them in this terrible time".
"The devastation is really quite extraordinary," she said.
Ms Rice vowed to mobilise long-term international support to help Pakistan recover from the earthquake.
The Bush administration was criticised for its slow response to the Asia-Pacific tsunami in December last year and Hurricane Katrina at home.
The United States has provided emergency aid and flown in military aircraft to help with relief operations in Pakistan. President George W Bush has reacted quickly to natural disasters since Katrina in August.