Security cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul to be discussed in Istanbul summit

The leaders of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan will attend the 6th Summit on Afghanistan in Istanbul on Nov. 1, under the chairmanship of Turkish President Abullah Gul. The summit will focus on means of boosting security cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul, according to Al Arabiya sources. The United States has been pressing Pakistan for action against Afghan insurgents in the region, especially the Haqqani network that it says is the number one threat in Afghanistan and receives assistance from the Pakistan army. Washington claims the Haqqanis, based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, are mounting direct assaults on U.S. soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan that justify a stepped-up U.S. military push against them in Afghanistan and more CIA drone strikes to kill clan leaders in Pakistan. Turkey will also host a regional conference on Afghanistan on Nov. 2 in Istanbul, to be chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The Istanbul conference is intended to chart Afghanistan’s security future with the U.S.-led NATO mission already locked into troop drawdowns that are scheduled to bring all foreign combat troops home by 2014. The conference, scheduled to be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will also highlight the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Within the sidelines of the conference, Clinton will hold talks with Davutoglu the joint working plans between Ankara and Washington for covering the expected security gap in Iraq after the withdrawal of the U.S. troops. The logistic cooperation plan will top the priorities of the U.S. Secretary of State, while the joint security cooperation in face of the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq will top the priorities of the Turkish Foreign Minister, according to Al Arabiya resources.