Zardari told reporters after meeting the Afghan leader that the two nations’ cooperation had improved since Zardari took office and “we intend to enhance it further.”
“We need more security cooperation between our intelligence and their intelligence, which Pakistan is willing to offer,” he said.
Karzai said, “We face a common enemy and we think our joint efforts can ward off terrorists.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the meeting as wide-ranging and productive.
“This openness in dialogue in fact is a step forward in our relations,” he said, saying the discussion was focused partly on Taleban bases in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
“These are issues that we should discuss and these are issues that we should fight together,” Karzai said.
Karzai said he was exploring all avenues to find peace in Afghanistan. “But we are certainly not talking to Al-Qaeda. We will offer peace talks to sons of the soil, meaning the Afghan people.”
Karzai criticized Pakistan during his first years in office but has been sending conciliatory messages as he pushes ahead with efforts to strike a peace deal with members of the Taleban.
He recently set up a council tasked with pursuing peace talks with rebels willing to break with Al-Qaeda, renounce violence and recognize the Afghan government in Kabul.
Karzai proclaimed after a meeting with Zardari in March that Pakistan would be key to any talks with the Taleban.
