Karzai to hold peace talks during Pakistan visit

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to hold talks in Pakistan on Friday likely to focus on stepping up efforts to negotiate peace with the Taliban after nearly a decade of conflict in both countries.

The visit comes six weeks after US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2, which has heightened calls within the United States for a peace settlement in Afghanistan.

It will also road test relations between Kabul and Islamabad, which became more tense after Afghanistan seized on the bin Laden raid as proof that the war on terror would be better fought in Pakistan than in Afghanistan.

Karzai is expected to hold talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. During the two-day visit, a joint peace commission involving officials from both countries is also scheduled to meet.

Few breakthroughs are anticipated at the talks, but analysts say both sides will have an opportunity to lay their cards on the table.

Pakistan can ask Karzai about his intentions and those of the United States as regards negotiating with the Taliban, and Afghanistan can seek reassurances from Pakistan that it will not hinder the process. (AFP)