ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Vice President Dick Cheney warned today that al-Qaida is "regrouping" in Pakistan's remote border region and sought President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's help in a stiffened push against Taliban and al-Qaida militants, Musharraf's office said.

Cheney's unannounced stopover en route to Afghanistan came as British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett also held talks with Musharraf and expressed concern about suspected militant safe havens near the Afghan frontier.

"Cheney expressed U.S. apprehensions of regrouping of al-Qaida in the tribal areas and called for concerted efforts in countering the threat," according to a faxed statement from the presidential office.

"He expressed serious U.S. concerns on the intelligence being picked up of an impending Taliban and al-Qaida 'spring offensive' against allied forces in Afghanistan," the statement said.

Cheney made no public comment after the talks in Musharraf's office in Islamabad.

The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported today that President Bush has decided to send a tough message to Musharraf, warning him that the Democrat-controlled Congress may cut off funding to Pakistan unless it gets more aggressive in hunting down al-Qaida and Taliban operatives in its country.

The Times report did not mention Cheney's visit to Pakistan and it was not known if the vice president conveyed such a message to Musharraf.

But unnamed senior administration officials told the newspaper that Bush decided to take a tougher line with Pakistan after concluding that Musharraf is failing to follow through on commitments to maintain the hunt for militants that he made during a September visit to Washington.

The U.S. and Britain have praised on Pakistan for its role in arresting al-Qaida suspects who hid in Pakistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks triggered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

But they are pressing Pakistan to do more to disrupt Pakistan-based Taliban expected to step up raids into Afghanistan in the coming months and to trap Taliban and al-Qaida leaders suspected of hiding in the border region.