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Track down Al-Qaeda strongholds: Karzai

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to arrive here next week on a two-day visit that the Pakistan government said was an expression of Afghanistan’s solidarity with and goodwill for its “brotherly” neighbour.

But ahead of the December 26-27 visit, Mr. Karzai on Wednesday urged the international coalition in the “war on terror” to track down the “strongholds” of Al-Qaeda and Taliban, which he said were outside Afghanistan. He did not name any country, but according to media reports from Kabul, it was an apparent reference to Pakistan.

“We want the struggle against terrorism to go after their bases, their hideouts and training centers,” Mr. Karzai was reported as saying during an Id speech.

Pakistan’s position is that the Taliban is an Afghan problem and has to be resolved by Afghanistan. Asked if Pakistan would ask Afghanistan to “do more” to resolve the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said the “language of do more is not our language.”

He said “all bilateral issues” and “co-operation between the two countries on the issues of extremism and terrorism” would be discussed during the visit.

The Foreign Ministry said Mr. Karzai’s visit was in response to an invitation from President Pervez Musharraf when he went to Kabul to attend the Pak-Afghan grand jirga in August this year.

During the visit, Mr. Karzai is expected to meet General (retd.) Musharraf and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro. The Ministry pointed out that after Turkish president Abdullah Gul, Mr. Karzai would be the second head of state to visit Pakistan since the election of General Musharraf for a new term.

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