President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai arrived in Tehran on Friday for a three-way summit with their Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and to attend an anti-terrorism conference to be held on Saturday, IRNA news agency reported. The summit to be attended by President Zardari, Karzai and Ahmadinejad, comes as the US announced that it will draw down by 33,000 its contingent of 99,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of summer 2012.
During a trilateral meeting, the three leaders agreed to expand and strengthen cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region. They also agreed that terrorism was a big hurdle in the way of regional development, which must be tackled and eliminated through enhanced cooperation and that trade and economic activities should be promoted within the region. They expressed resolve to find indigenous solution to the regional issues. President Zardari and Ahmadinejad agreed to make collective efforts to eliminate terrorism.
The two agreed to continue working together for peace and stability in the region. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Strait Times, President Zardari denied that Pakistan was turning a blind eye to militants and vowed that it would hunt down and eliminate terrorists. He said Pakistan was determined to wipe out extremism, adding that Pakistan was the hardest-hit victim of the scourge with more than 35,000 persons including security forces, killed by terrorists. Zardari also dismissed the notion that the increasing number of terrorist attacks was proof that the country was on the brink of becoming a failed state.
Instead, he said, effective law enforcement operations had put terrorists on their heels, and they were launching more attacks out of desperation. In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Remain Mehman-Parast said the international community should confront the double-standard attitude pursued by the world powers to terrorism. Speaking to the Information Dissemination Headquarters of the Global Campaign against Terrorism Conference, Mehman-Parast said certain powers used different issues as a tool and the global community needed to deal with double-standard approach of powers towards terrorism.
Kabul urges end to cross-border attacks
KABUL – The Afghan government on Friday called for an end to cross-border attacks from Pakistan, warning that such incidents could affect “improving trust and cooperation” between the two wary allies. Four children were killed late on Thursday by Pakistani shelling in the latest attack in the volatile northeastern province of Kunar, Kabul said. There was no immediate comment from Islamabad.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern about the continuing Pakistani artillery shelling of Afghan villages in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces,” it added in a statement. “The continuation of such incidents could adversely affect the spirit of improving trust and cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
It claimed that Pakistan launched over 10 shells late Thursday against targets in the Sarkano district of Kunar and the Goshta district of Nangahar. AFP
Zardari is not authorized as President to strike unilateral deals with foreign powers.He is serving UK,NATO,India,IMF,drones,USA agenda to perpetuate his power &ill gotten hundred of trillions assets.He has ruined energy sector,PIA,PSML,Railways etcetc.How can you trust him to negotiate any deal selflessly.Parliament should ban his delving in national issues.But the criminal,coalition 'tola' of treacherous corrupt toadies of PPP-Z,MQM frustrates every effort which redeem the natuion for their trillion of dollars ill gotten wealth,bathakhori,and prolonged power.I would request Azad Kasmiris to not casr one vote for PPP-Z,plunderers,MQM,munafaaks,target qatils,anti nation party(ANP) and another mufadprastss Choudries of ML-Q.
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