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Pakistan army chief visits Kabul as peace diplomacy builds
Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif attends the change of command ceremony with outgoing army chief General Ashfaq Kayani (not in picture) at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, November 29, 2013. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Mian Khursheed
27/12/2015
KABUL (Reuters) - The powerful head of Pakistan's army, General Raheel Sharif met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday as diplomatic contacts continued to improve regional security and prepare the way for fresh peace talks with the Taliban.
The meeting is the latest in a series of encounters between officials and politicians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and India over recent months as cautious moves have begun toward easing longstanding tensions between Islamabad, New Delhi and Kabul.
No official statement has been released about the content of the meeting but a source in the presidential palace said they discussed security, peace and counter-terrorism.
Sharif's visit to Kabul follows two meetings between Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over recent weeks that set the stage for efforts to restart Pakistan-brokered peace talks with the Taliban.
It comes two days after a surprise visit to Lahore by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who stopped by in the Pakistani city on his way back from a visit to Afghanistan where he opened a new Indian-financed parliament building and delivered three Russian-made military helicopters.
Raheel Sharif, whose influence on Pakistani policy extends well beyond the normal remit of an army commander, was in Washington last month where President Barack Obama and officials pushed hard for a return to negotiations.
Pakistan is viewed with deep suspicion by many in Afghanistan, who say Islamabad has sponsored the Taliban insurgency with the aim of destabilizing its northern neighbor and extending its own influence.
For its part, Pakistan, where many Taliban leaders are believed to be living, denies the accusation and says it is also a victim of militancy. Earlier this month, it marked the first anniversary of an attack on a school in Peshawar in which Taliban gunmen killed 134 students.
Under pressure from the United States and China, Pakistan and Afghanistan are seeking to resume peace talks with the Taliban that broke down in July when it emerged that the Taliban's leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had been dead for more than two years and his death had been covered up.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi and James Mackenzie; Editing by Alison Williams)
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