Islamabad, Kabul to resume talks

COLOMBO (Agencies) - Afghanistan accepted Pakistan's offer on Sunday to resume talks which the Kabul government had boycotted after accusing its neighbour of being behind a series of attacks.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani talked on the sidelines of regional summit in Colombo on Sunday, their first meeting since July 15.

"At the suggestion of Pakistan, the Afghan side agreed to re-engage on all bilateral and multilateral forums," a presidential palace statement said.

They agreed the two governments needed to develop a common strategy to overcome the threat of terrorism and extremism. The two foreign ministers will meet soon, it said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan sought evidence from Afghanistan relating to Kabul's allegations involving Pakistan in Indian embassy bombing but the Afghan President Hamid Karzai failed to present any proof in this regard.

The evidence was sought by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani during a meeting with Hamid Karzai who had invited the former at breakfast here at a local hotel.

Gilani discussed regional situation, war against terrorism and bilateral relations with the Afghan leader in the meeting. The two leaders also discussed the confidence-building measures between the two countries.

According to the sources and a private TV channel, the two leaders also talked about allegations levelled after the embassy bombing. They agreed that both countries were victims of terrorism. Gilani observed that the situation in Afghanistan also affects Pakistan so the peace in Afghanistan is in the best interest of Pakistan. He also urged the Afghan leader to avoid issuing statements against Pakistan.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Gilani said that his talks with the Afghan President were fruitful and constructive and both the countries agreed on keeping the contacts continued. The Prime Minister said Pakistan is trying its level best to maintain friendly and close relations with Afghanistan so that both countries could defeat terrorism jointly.

According to a private TV channel, Karzai did not provide any evidence relating to involvement of Inter Services Intelligence in bombing outside Indian embassy in Kabul. Afghan President went on to say that he is not against Pakistan but some handful elements are trying to create rift between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Both Gilani and Karzai agreed to come up with a common strategy to tackle terrorism and extremism.

According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, both sides agreed that there was a need for the two governments to engage on all issues across the board with a view to developing a common strategy to overcome the challenges posed to the security and stability of both the countries by terrorism.

The two sides agreed to coordinate their efforts to stop cross-border terrorism.

Gilani and Karzai recalled the strong bonds of brotherhood between Pakistan and Afghanistan and exchanged views on the common challenges facing the two countries in terms of dealing with terror and militancy.

The Prime Minister and the President decided that their foreign ministers will meet to prepare grounds for a framework for close and constructive engagement between the two countries to build confidence and develop a common strategy at the political, military and intelligence levels in collaboration with their coalition partners and NATO and ISAF.

The PM and the President also stressed the importance of closer bilateral engagement at the leadership level and at Afghanistan's suggestion, agreed that the engagement should also lead to expediting the process of convening the mini-Jirga as soon as possible.

At the suggestion of Pakistan, the Afghan side agreed to re-engage on all bilateral and multilateral forums.

Although Prime Minister Gilani at a meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had said Saturday that he would discuss the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul with Karzai and will ask for evidence from the Afghan President, but the joint statement made no reference to the embassy bombing.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the meeting lasted over an hour in a cordial atmosphere. He further said that the barrage of accusations was likely to come to a halt after this meeting.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said there was no evidence linking his country to attacks on India, adding such accusations had hurt the peace process, a report said on Sunday.

Both India and Afghanistan blamed Pakistan's spy agency for a July 7 attack on India's embassy in Kabul in which two Indian diplomats were among 58 people killed, prompting India to say the peace process was "under stress."

Gilani's comments came a day after he promised his Indian counterpart to hold an inquiry into the alleged role of his spy agency in the Kabul attack.

"The Indian statement is not only surprising but shocking too," Gilani told Sri Lanka's Sunday Leader newspaper in an interview.

"There were also bombing incidents in Pakistan subsequently, but we have not pointed fingers at anyone as we believe in carrying out investigations before laying responsibility."

Gilani said unproven charges made by India hurt peace. "Such baseless accusations serve no purpose other than vitiating bilateral atmosphere," he said.

"It is important that the blame game is avoided, as both countries have an institutionalised counter-terror mechanism which is functioning satisfactorily."

He was referring to a 2006 anti-terrorism mechanism they established to provide a platform for information exchange and assistance in investigations.

Analysts and diplomats say the promise of an investigation by Pakistan into the Kabul bombing was an honorable 'safety valve' that would defuse tension.

The language used after the meeting between the two prime ministers was much measured, with India's top foreign ministry official describing it as 'a candid and open conversation between two people who both wanted to see a way forward in this situation'.