Trilateral summit: Zardari denies Pak army involved with militants in Afghanistan

Islamabad, Feb 17 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has denied that his country's armed forces are involved with militants in Afghanistan.

Addressing a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Zardari said there was a "residue" of the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, The Express Tribune reports.

Earlier, in the meeting in Islamabad, Karzai had bluntly demanded that Pakistan produce Taliban leaders to negotiate with him.

A source said that the Pakistani side was shocked by the Afghan leader's aggression.

Karzai has long demanded that Pakistan bring the leadership of the Taliban to the negotiating table, including its chief, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar described the discussions with the Afghan delegation as "hard" and "serious", and clarified that Islamabad was unaware of Mullah Omar's whereabouts.

"We don't have Mullah Omar to bring. That's the crazy perception about Pakistan. It's ridiculous," she added.

The Afghan side's main meeting on Thursday was with the combined Pakistani civilian and military leadership, which went on for around three hours, with the Pakistani prime minister, foreign minister, army chief and head of the intelligence service all present. (ANI)