Turkey hosts Afghan, Pakistan leaders

Turkish hosts of the meeting between the Presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul said they hoped it would help reduce bilateral tensions. Speaking to Financial Times, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the current tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan come at a time of efforts to bring about peace in Afghanistan by ending the war with the Taliban. Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted the trilateral summit Tuesday with counterparts Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan. Afghanistan-Pakistan relations remain tense with Afghan accusations Pakistan's spy agency is supporting the Taliban and the Haqqani group to launch attacks on Afghanistan from safe havens in Pakistan. Pakistan has made similar accusations against Afghanistan. Afghanistan also has accused the Pakistani spy agency of being involved in the Sept. 20 suicide-bomb assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who had headed the high peace council negotiating with the insurgents. "If there is tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan, there cannot be a healthy transition," Davutoglu told the Financial Times, referring to plans for the Afghan security forces to assume responsibility for security of the country as NATO and the United States reduce their troop strength.