UK PM to hold talks with Afghan, Pakistani leaders

PanARMENIAN.Net - British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold key talks with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to discuss the Afghan peace process, according to BBC News.

The trilateral summit - the third since last summer - is aimed at improving co-operation between both countries to promote regional stability.

For the first time Afghan and Pakistani army and intelligence chiefs will also take part in the discussions.

NATO troops are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

In a process initiated by Cameron last year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari have agreed to work together on a framework of co-operation following the international troops' departure next year.

Cameron will host a dinner with Karzai and Zardari at his official country residence Chequers north of London on Sunday, Feb 3 evening.

He will then hold the in-depth talks with both presidents and their key officials on Monday.

"This trilateral process sends a very clear message to the Taliban: now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful political process in Afghanistan," Downing Street said in a statement.

"As the prime minister has set out previously, a stable Afghanistan is not just in the interests of Afghans, but also in the interests of their neighbors and the UK."

The Afghan government has made it clear that it views the recent freeing by Pakistan of a number of Taliban prisoners as positive.

But it still wants the release of the former second-in-command of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Baradar, in the hope that a senior figure like him could influence the Taliban to engage in talks with Kabul.

For the first time, the trilateral talks will also include military and intelligence chiefs from both Afghanistan and Pakistan.