Karzai In Pakistan

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is in Pakistan for talks expected to focus on attempts to bring the Taliban into the peace process. Karzai is likely to tackle claims that Pakistani military personnel continue to support the insurgency.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is due to join the meeting later for talks focusing on trade issues. Earlier, the Afghan leader told the Wall Street Journal that he had already started discussions with the Taliban.

"There have been contacts between the US government and the Taliban, there have been contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban," he said in an interview ipublished on Thursday.

"And there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together, including the Taliban."

He said Pakistan's co-operation would make the process easier. The US, Afghanistan and the Taliban have been involved in a tentative process to explore the possibility of peace talks, which were likely to be hosted by Qatar.

The paper reported that Karzai refused to go into details about the talks. It is unclear whether his comments suggest that contacts have gone further than previously reported.

The Afghan leader arrived in Islamabad earlier and held talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Analysts say Karzai may seek access to Taliban leaders believed to be in Pakistan.

The Afghan leader has good relations with Pakistan's civilian politicians, but ties have often been tense with the military, whom he accuses of backing the Taliban.

Afghan and Pakistani diplomats say they want the agenda of the three-way talks to stick to trade and ways to stop drug trafficking. But Ahmadinejad, looking to garner support as tension rises with Israel, may well have different ideas, says our correspondent.