Pakistan Says Ready To Assist Afghan Talks

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi (file photo)

Pakistan says it is willing to facilitate reconciliation talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Speaking today in Brussels, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said peace and stability in Afghanistan were in Islamabad's interests.

His comments come one day after NATO and U.S. officials said they supported the Afghan government's efforts to establish peace talks with the Taliban.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance was ready to support such talks but ruled out halting military operations against the Afghan insurgency.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington will do "whatever it takes" to support Afghan President Hamid Karzai's push to reconcile with some elements of the Taliban.

compiled from agency reports