Kabul, Islamabad dialogue praised

London welcomed a regional agreement reached in Istanbul that saw Afghan and Pakistani leaders look beyond economic cooperation, an official said. Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted Afghan and Pakistani diplomats for a broad-based regional discussion. All sides backed a so-called Istanbul Process that called for greater cooperation on defense issues and a joint investigation into the assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani. British Middle East and North African Minister Alistair Burt said in a statement that he welcomed the deepening of ties between the two Asian neighbors. "Significantly, regional leaders, supported by international partners, signed up to an Istanbul Process, ensuring for the first time a framework for taking forward political and security co-operation, and going beyond economic cooperation," he said. "They also made commitments to support the Afghan government in its efforts to promote reconciliation and to tackle terrorism together across the region." The British government was invited to the talks as an observer. Pakistan is accused of harboring militants in its lawless tribal regions that are bent in destabilizing Afghanistan. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said from Brussels that, although high-profile attacks and assassinations make good headlines, Afghanistan was moving in the right direction. "Overall enemy attacks are decreasing and the enemy has been weakened," he said in a statement.