DAVOS, Switzerland — Secretary of State Rice pressed the President Musharraf of Pakistan yesterday to ensure that next month’s elections are free and fair and urged him to boost counterterrorism cooperation with America and neighboring Afghanistan.

Meeting with Mr. Musharraf here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Rice praised him as a steadfast ally in the war on terror whose country would continue to receive substantial American support. But she stressed that he must uphold his stated commitment to democracy.

The meeting was the highest-level, face-to-face American contact with the Pakistani leader since last month’s assassination of an opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, and it came as Mr. Musharraf faces growing discontent at home and the Bush administration fights congressional efforts to curb its backing.

Separately, Ms. Rice and President Karzai of Afghanistan, also in Davos, discussed counterterrorism and narcotics challenges as well as NATO’s role in combating extremists in Afghanistan. The alliance has faced recent American criticism.

“NATO is not performing perfectly,” Ms. Rice said in a speech to the forum. “We are engaged in a real war in Afghanistan. … This is not just a peacekeeping operation, and the stakes could not be higher for the Afghan people, for our alliance, and for our security.”

In remarks to the same audience, Mr. Karzai warned of the global danger from a “wildfire spread of terrorism” in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mr. Musharraf’s meeting with Ms. Rice was part of a European tour aimed at reassuring Western leaders about his ability to restore democracy and prevail in the escalating combat between government troops and Taliban rebels along Pakistan’s mountainous border with Afghanistan.

Yet many are waiting until Pakistan’s February 18 parliamentary elections to determine if Mr. Musharraf is serious about democracy given several of his actions last year, including the imposition of emergency rule, that have placed his commitment into question.

While the state of emergency was lifted and he has stepped down as army chief, the December 27 assassination of Bhutto created new uncertainties about what was already expected to be elections fraught with difficulties, not least of which was Mr. Musharraf’s crackdown on the opposition.

Ms. Rice and Mr. Musharraf “talked about the importance of upcoming elections and the fact that they need to be free and fair — and be seen as free and fair,” a State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, told reporters after the meeting. “And the Pakistani people need to have confidence in them.”

Mr. Musharraf has promised that the elections would be free and fair and said detractors should be more patient with his nation’s efforts to achieve higher standards of human rights, decrying the West’s “obsession” with speedy democracy.

Late Tuesday, an influential group of retired officers from Pakistan’s powerful military urged Mr. Musharraf to step down immediately, saying his resignation would promote democracy and help combat religious militancy. Although the group does not speak for serving officers, its call is an embarrassment to Mr. Musharraf, whose popularity has nosedived among the civilian population and whose credentials abroad have been sullied by an increasingly authoritarian streak and rise in insurgent activity.

Ahead of yesterday’s meeting, Ms. Rice said the Bush administration would strongly oppose attempts by Congress to further restrict or limit billions of dollars in American aid it provides to Pakistan.