Turkey hopes to boost Afghan, Pakistan security ties

ANKARA (Reuters) - NATO member Turkey hopes to boost cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the fight against al Qaeda and Taliban militants when the presidents of the two countries meet in Ankara Wednesday, officials said.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stop militants crossing the border to carry out deadly attacks, but ties between Kabul and Islamabad have started to improve after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari came to power last year.

Military and intelligence chiefs of Pakistan and Afghanistan will also attend the talks hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Zardari, Turkish officials said.

The talks were expected to focus on border security and intelligence sharing.

"The only way to improve the security situation in these countries is to get the military to cooperate and understand each other, and we believe we can help here," a Turkish diplomat, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

"Improving just civilian ties are not enough."

Officials from around the world were in The Hague Tuesday for a U.N.-backed conference on Afghanistan in which the United States was appealing for international support to defeat militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Predominantly Muslim Turkey has long-standing ties with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has hosted two high-level meetings between the two neighbors in the past.

The chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence would be among those attending Wednesday's talks, a Turkish government source said.

"In the summit, ideas will be exchanged on regional security, Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and reflections of these relations in the region, and common projects aiming to contribute to stability, security and welfare of the region," the Turkish president's office said in a statement.

NATO says increased cooperation between Kabul and Islamabad has resulted in a drop of cross-border insurgent infiltration.

More than 70,000 U.S. and NATO troops are in Afghanistan battling a growing insurgency by the Taliban movement, which is also spreading its influence in Pakistan through the porous mountain border between the two countries.

U.S. President Barack Obama Friday announced a new strategy which will combine extra troops, funds for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a renewed focus on targeting al Qaeda militants on the Afghan/Pakistan border.

Obama was due to visit Turkey April 6-7 for bilateral talks.

(Reporting by Paul de Bendern and Zerin Elci; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia and Charles Dick)