Karzai, Ahmedinejad in Pakistan for anti-terrorism summit

Islamabad: A counter-terrorism summit in Islamabad is grabbing eyeballs, especially with the participation of Iranian President Ahmedinejad. It is the Iranian premier's first public outing after he revealed his country's nuclear might live on television on Wednesday. The trilateral summit is also being attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai who arrived on Thursday.

The summit will focus on regional security situation, say officials.

Shortly after his arrival, Karzai held one-on-one and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project is expected to figure in talks between Zardari and Ahmadinejad.

The Pakistani delegation included Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Strategy for Afghanistan after withdrawal of US troops, the bilateral meetings and the trilateral summit are expected to focus on the regional security situation, particularly the reconciliation process in Afghanistan and Iran's tensions with Israel over its controversial nuclear programme.

The war on terrorism and efforts to counter drug trafficking and crimes too are expected to figure in the talks, officials said.

The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project is expected to figure in talks between Zardari and Ahmadinejad.

Karzai's visit marks the revival of high-level contacts between Pakistan and Afghanistan for the reconciliation process, including efforts to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table. These contacts were suspended following the assassination of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani in Pakistan in September.

Afghan officials had blamed the assassination on elements based within Pakistan.

With additional information from PTI

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