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Karzai Welcomes Pakistan's Reconciliation Assistance

   VOA News 11 March 2010
   Bilateral talks in Islamabad, Pakistan

Photo: AP

   Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai , second from left, and Pakistani
   Prime  Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, second from right, attend talks on
   bilateral issues in Islamabad, Pakistan, 11 Mar 2010

   Afghan  President  Hamid  Karzai has welcomed Pakistan's offer to help
   the Afghan government achieve reconciliation with Taliban militants.
   Speaking  on  a  visit to Islamabad Thursday, Mr. Karzai said Pakistan
   has   a  "significantly  important  role"  to  play  in  Afghanistan's
   reconciliation   process.   He  made  the  comment  in  a  joint  news
   conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
   Mr.  Karzai plans to hold a reconciliation conference with the Taliban
   in April.
   Mr.  Gilani  said  Pakistan  will  help the Afghan people to stabilize
   their country in any way possible.  Pakistan previously has offered to
   help  the  Afghan  government  negotiate  with  the  Taliban,  a group
   Islamabad supported in the 1990s when the militants ruled Afghanistan.
   Pakistan's  government  is now fighting Taliban militants based on its
   territory  and recently captured the group's number-two leader, Mullah
   Abdul Ghani Baradar in Karachi.
   Despite  that  arrest, many Afghans resent Pakistan's past support for
   the  Taliban  and  are  suspicious of Islamabad's motives to help with
   reconciliation.
   Mr.  Karzai  issued  another  appeal to Pakistan Thursday to hand over
   Baradar,  but  Mr.  Gilani  said Islamabad still is considering such a
   move.
   The Afghan president arrived in Pakistan Wednesday and held talks with
   his  Pakistani  counterpart  Asif Ali Zardari.  Mr. Zardari called for
   Pakistan and Afghanistan to urge the international community to devise
   a plan to banish militancy from the region.
   The two presidents also agreed to strengthen economic ties and convene
   a  joint  "Peace  Jirga"  -  a  meeting  of  tribal  elders and senior
   government officials from both countries.
   It  is  Mr.  Karzai's  first  visit  to neighboring Pakistan since his
   controversial re-election last year.
   Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

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