Kasuri to discuss jirga in Kabul visit

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri Saturday told his Afghan counterpart that he would discuss the holding of the proposed "jirga" or council of tribal elders during his Kabul visit in December, official sources and TV channels reported.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai agreed in their meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush to convene jirgas on both sides of the border to seek their help to put an end to violence in Afghanistan.

Kasuri and Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta talked over phone and discussed bilateral ties, sources in the Pakistani foreign office said.

Spanta renewed his invitation to Kasuri to visit Kabul and Kasuri said he would pay a visit in December.

The two foreign ministers talked over phone at a time when both the governments recently exchanged harsh statements despite any understanding between Musharraf and Karzai not to level allegations in public.

Source: Xinhua