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Counter-terrorism summit: Karzai reaches Islamabad

Thursday, 16 February 2012 12:15

Politics

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai reached Islamabad to attend two-day counter-terrorism summit.

Pakistan is due to host two-day counter-terrorism summit in Islamabad later on Thursday to be also participated by Afghanistan and Iran.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has reached Islamabad to attend the summit while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in expected to arrive later today.

The summit is likely to be overshadowed by tensions between Tehran and Israel over a series of recent bombings.

Israel this week accused Iran of targeting its diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand, against a backdrop of speculation that the Jewish state or the United States could be months from launching military strikes against Iran.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad unveiled new strides in its nuclear programme in a defiant blow to US and EU sanctions designed to rein in its atomic activities.

"I don t think so," a senior Pakistani government official told AFP when asked if mounting tensions between Iran and Israel, and the showdown over Iran s nuclear programme, would dominate the summit.

"The trilateral summit will discuss cooperation on counter-terrorism and transnational organised crime including drug and human trafficking and border management," the official said.

The talks also come with stepped up efforts to kickstart peace talks with the Taliban designed to end 10 years of war in Afghanistan. Kabul is reportedly concerned about being sidelined by contacts between the US and the Taliban.

On peace efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan says it will support an reconciliation attempt that is Afghan-owned and led.

Islamabad is moving towards a detente in its own relations with Washington, which took a drastic turn for the worse over last year s covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden and air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

But despite strong US objections, Pakistan says it is pressing ahead with a multi-billion-dollar project to build a gas pipeline to import fuel from Iran.

"There is no change or shift regarding the gas pipeline project and it is scheduled to be completed by 2014," said the official.

Pakistan calls for a "peaceful resolution" of all issues related to Iran s nuclear programme and official line on US and EU sanctions on Iran.