KABUL, Afghanistan: Pakistan stands strongly behind efforts to make peace with the Taliban and that while the US will play a role in any reconciliation, Kabul should set the parameters for any talks to end the war, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said Saturday. At a news conference, Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said ™a new Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission comprising top-ranking officials is being set up to accelerate and promote a peace process. Any solution to the war requires the support of Pakistan, and in particular elements of its security forces, which are believed to have links to insurgents in Afghanistan. Gilani, army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and spy chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha and other officials flew to Kabul at a time when US relations with both nations are deeply strained. Having the trio of Pakistan's power elite at the Afghan presidential palace at the same time underscored the importance of the daylong round of talks. “We firmly believe that this process must have full Afghan ownership,” Gilani said. “It is for the Afghan nation to determine the parameters on which a reconciliation and peace process would be shaped.” The US backs reconciliation efforts, saying that it is willing to negotiate with members of the Taliban who renounce violence, sever ties with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network and accepts the Afghan constitution. It's unclear whether the US currently sees these as preconditions to talks or desired outcomes. But Gilani said that “conditions, qualifications or demands at this stage, in our view, may not be helpful.” “Is the US on board?” he asked, repeating a reporter's question. “Yes, the US is on board and whatever will be decided will be decided between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States.” Gilani stressed solidarity between the two nations, which share a 1,500-mile (2,430-kilometer) border. He denied that Pakistan's tribal areas were a safe haven for terrorists — a frequent allegation made in both the US and Afghanistan. “We are fighting a war on terrorism,” he said. “If there are military actions in our area, people they go to Afghanistan and if there is a military action by NATO forces, they come to Pakistan. Therefore, we should have more intelligence cooperation, more defense cooperation and more political cooperation.” “We must complement each other. ... There should be no blame game.”
