'Pakistan Hails New Afghan Relations', Al Jazeera, 24 February 2009
EXCERPT: "Pakistan and Afghanistan have developed a 'new environment' of trust that will aid their battle against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, the Pakistani foreign minister has said. Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the remarks as he met Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, his Afghan counterpart in Washington ahead of talks with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, as part of a review of US policy towards the two nations. Spanta said relations between the neighbouring states, which in the past had deteriorated over responsibility for border attacks by fighters, had 'remarkably improved'. International concerns have been raised over Pakistan's strategy for dealing with fighters after it reached a deal with religious leaders in the Swat valley near Islamabad to introduce Sharia or Islamic law as part of a truce. Critics in the US, Europe, Afghanistan and India, have expressed concerns the move will embolden al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan."
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See also:
'Afghan and Pakistani declare new trust in US talks', Reuters UK, 24 February 2009
'Pakistan wants NATO to seal off Afghan border along Bajaur', Daily Times, 24 February 2009
'Pakistan agrees fresh Taliban truce', CNN International, 24 February 2009
'Afghanistan, Pakistan figures arrive for talks in Washington', The Washington Independent, 23 February 2009
Related posts:
'Are Afghan-Pakistan antiterror ties more than rhetoric?', 9 January 2009
'Afghanistan, Pakistan: The battlespace of the border', 14 October 2008
'"Biggest threat" to US is aided by Pakistanis', 8 October 2008
'Leaked report links Pakistan to Taliban', 2 October 2008
'"Taliban sanctuary bases in Pakistan must be eliminated": Report', 9 June 2008
