Afghan leader to travel to Pakistan for talks on fighting militants

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Afghanistan's president headed to neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday to coordinate the fight against Taliban and al-Qaida militants along the countries' shared border, a subject that has led to tension between the two US allies. President Hamid Karzai was to meet Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for talks that will focus on economic ties as well as the battle against militants, said Mohammed Sadiq, spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. Afghan officials have repeatedly said that Taliban- and al-Qaida-linked militants use bases inside Pakistan to orchestrate attacks against Karzai's US-backed government. In a speech last week, Karzai said that militant sanctuaries were located beyond Afghanistan's borders and he wanted the US-led fight against terrorism "to go after their shelters ... and training centers."