President Karzai is meeting Pakistani and British leaders in the trilateral summit in UK on Sunday and Monday. Another effort for improvement of AfPak relations and the reconciliation process, there seems to be less expectations of any positive development. A high level delegation from both countries are in attendance, where UK hosts for the first time both the political and security leadership from Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Presidents Karzai and Zardari, Foreign Ministers, Chiefs of Army Staff, Chiefs of Intelligence and the Chairman of the High Peace Council.

The summit will focus on the peace process and reconciliation efforts with the Taliban. The British Prime Minister will push leaders from both countries to make progress on the Strategic Partnership Agreement that had been proposed in September.

Prior to the summit, Defense Minister Bismillah Khan visited Pakistan and met their Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani. The Government has responded positively to the long-awaiting offer from Pakistan to train Afghan National Security Forces. It seemed an exercise before the summit. It is the third meeting of the trilateral meeting started last summer, the first held in Kabul in July, followed by meetings at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.

A spokesman of Prime Minister Cameron says this trilateral process sends a very clear message to the Taliban: now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful political process in Afghanistan. He added that a stable Afghanistan is not just in the interests of Afghans, but also in the interests of their neighbors and the UK, who share the same vision for Afghanistan: a secure, stable and democratic country that never again becomes a haven for international terror.

There has been significant progress on the reconciliation efforts and cooperation in this regard between Kabul and Islamabad. But those efforts have been primary moves in the shaky AfPak relations. President Karzai has always accused that Taliban militant leaders are provided safe havens across the Durand Line in Pakistan. In talks with American officials, he always mentions that roots of terrorism are outside Afghanistan and they should be tackled.

The progress between the two countries with release of Taliban by Pakistan has not been clear. Pakistan has expectations in return for those released and further cooperation and the recent progress on training of ANSF is one aspect. What Britain can help both countries in the interest of regional peace and security and long-term stability is the issue of Durand Line which has never been officially recognized by Kabul, and been the root cause of tension between the two countries.