The White House says President Barack Obama will host talks with his
counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan next week in Washington.
Spokesman
Robert Gibbs says Mr. Obama will speak jointly and separately with
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari
starting Wednesday at the White House.
Meantime, The New York
Times reports that the Obama administration is considering reaching out
to former Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif. Mr. Sharif heads the
opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N party, and has ties to Pakistani
Islamists.
The newspaper report says U.S. officials hope to use these Islamist ties to address the challenges posed by Taliban insurgents.
Mr.
Obama has introduced a revised strategy to stabilize Afghanistan and
neighboring Pakistan. Both governments are fighting Taliban
insurgencies in regions of their countries that share a mountainous
border.
Insurgents have made a comeback in
Afghanistan, causing the highest level of violence since a U.S.-led
coalition ousted the Taliban government in 2001.
Pakistan has
been hit in recent years by a wave of militant attacks in the tribal
areas and also in the capital, Islamabad. The government is under
intense pressure from the United States to defeat insurgents who also
stage attacks in Afghanistan.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
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