Karzai urges Pakistan to attend Afghan talks
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:44 GMT
BERLIN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai phoned Pakistan's prime minister to urge Islamabad not to boycott an international conference in Bonn on the future of Afghanistan because of a cross-border attack by NATO, he said on Tuesday.
"I phoned (Pakistan Prime Minister) Yusuf Raza Gilani and told him that the attacks on the border should not be a reason for Pakistan not to take part in the conference," Karzai told the online version of German news magazine Der Spiegel in Kabul.
Pakistan said on Tuesday it was pulling out of next week's meeting in the former West German capital because of the strike on two combat outposts on the border with Afghanistan last Saturday, in which 24 Pakistani soldiers died.
"I hope they rethink their decision and end up coming to the conference," said Karzai, who will chair the Bonn conference, adding: "We would be happier if they did come." (Reporting by Stephen Brown; Editing by Peter Graff)
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