Pakistani Prez Visits 'The Daily Show'

Jon Stewart welcomed Pakistan's president to "The Daily Show" on Tuesday with tea and a Twinkie.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's appearance on the Comedy Central program was an even more unlikely tête-à-tête than the much-anticipated meeting between Musharraf, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Bush on Wednesday.

As a gesture mirroring Pakistani hospitality, Stewart welcomed Musharraf with a cup of jasmine green tea, and offered the more American delicacy of a Twinkie. Musharraf chuckled and thanked the host, though Stewart promptly changed the subject.

"Where's Osama bin Laden?" he asked suddenly.

"I don't know," replied Musharraf. "You know where he is? You lead on, we'll follow you."

Musharraf's appearance on "The Daily Show," which was taped late Tuesday and was slated to air Tuesday evening, was the first time a sitting head of state appeared on the program, a spokesman for "The Daily Show" said. Last week, former President Clinton appeared on the show.

The Pakistan president, who is on a tour of the United States, appeared on the program to promote his new memoir, "In the Line of Fire." The book has drawn headlines for, among other things, the Pakistan president's claim that after the Sept. 11 attacks he had no choice but to support the U.S.-led war on terror groups or face an American "onslaught."

Musharraf also writes in the memoir that the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was linked to perpetrators of the London subway bombings in 2005.

On Wednesday evening, Musharraf, Karzai and Bush were to meet for an iftar, the evening dinner with which Muslims break their daylight fasting during the Ramadan holy month. On Tuesday, Bush played down tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying both countries remain committed to hunting down bin Laden.

By Jake Coyle