Friday's session will encompass Heads of States dialogue, to be participated by President Asif Ali Zardari with his Iranian and Afghan counterparts. Though the Foreign Office was tight-lipped on the agenda of the Summit (on February 16-17), diplomatic sources said that the key agenda item would be the Afghan-led reconciliation process to discuss ways for bringing various warring groups in the war-torn Afghanistan to the mainstream politics.
According to western diplomats, the summit of the three important regional powers, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, will send a "strong message" to Washington for holding talks with Taliban in Qatar, bypassing the key regional powers. They said that the summit is important for the reason that Pakistan and Iran have influence on various insurgents groups, and Afghanistan, which has already expressed its concerns about being sidelined in the contacts between the US and the Taliban.
An official of the Foreign Office on Wednesday told Business Recorder that besides the Afghan reconciliation process, the event would also witness important activities of the Heads of the States on the margins of the summit. The officials said that the significant Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project would also come under discussion during President Zardari's meeting with his Iranian counterpart.
Amid increasing tension between Washington and Tehran on the nuclear issue, Islamabad, rejecting the US pressure, has repeatedly declared its firm stance on completion of the multibillion dollars pipeline project by 2014. The official said that besides the regional security situation, the summit would also focus on exploring co-operation in the fields of economics and trade, counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism measures.
"The summit will provide an opportunity to the Heads of the States to devise mechanism to jointly fight terrorism and deal with organised crime, improving border management, controlling narcotics smuggling and connectivity issues", said the official. The official further said that the Foreign Office has completed its homework to accord warm welcome to the visiting foreign dignitaries.