ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived inPakistan on Wednesday at the start of her first visit to the nuclear-armed Muslim state since taking office, an AFP reporter said.

The top US diplomat is scheduled to hold three days of talks with the political and military leadership of Pakistan, a key US ally in the war against Islamist extremists, visiting Islamabad and Lahore.

Clinton is the most senior US official to visit the nuclear-armed Muslim state since US President Barack Obama put Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and made the war in neighbouring Afghanistan a top priority.

Her arrival comes at a critical juncture for Pakistan, where a rising number of audacious attacks has shown Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked extremists can target anyone at anytime, and with the military pressing a major offensive.