In a bid to evolve a unanimously agreed global strategy for lasting peace and stability in the region, presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey are set to meet in Ankara on December 11 and 12, a source said.
Top commanders of the armed forces of the three countries are also expected to attend the meetings.
President Asif Ali Zardari will travel to Turkey from France after co-hosting an event called “Stand up for Malala” with the UNESCO chief in Paris on December 10.
The source said that before the Ankara summit, foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United Kingdom are scheduled to meet in London for two days to discuss the Pak-Afghan coordination on the intra-Afghan dialogue.
A roadmap, which Afghanistan had presented to Pakistan in November for the intra-Afghan dialogue, will also dominate the agenda of the talks in London and Ankara, the official further revealed.
Afghanistan shared the roadmap with Pakistan to win its support for negotiations with the Afghan Taliban detained in Pakistan.
“It was the first serious step on Kabul’s part for an intra-Afghan dialogue,” the source said.
“A roadmap for the Afghan-led reconciliation process seeking Islamabad’s role is with us now,” the official said, adding “we both will now discuss the modalities to implement the roadmap in our next meeting.”
The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkey trilateral process was launched in April 2007 and subsequent trilateral summits were hosted by Turkey in December 2008, April 2009, January 2010 and December 2010.
The summits focused on cooperation for promoting peace, security, and economic development in the region. Furthermore, military and intelligence chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan attended the trilateral summit for the first time in April 2009.
Turkey had sent troops to Afghanistan to serve with Nato forces to fulfil its pledge to fight terrorism in the region. “We are there to stop the threat of terrorism to the entire region and the world,” President Gul had told the summit.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2012.
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