The presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan are scheduled to hold a joint meeting with United States President George W. Bush on Wednesday.
The meeting comes in the midst of a renewed exchange of criticism between the two neighboring countries. Interviewed on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai expressed skepticism regarding a recent agreement signed between the Pakistani government and local tribesmen on the Afghani border. The agreement aims at stopping the Taliban fighters from taking refuge in North Waziristan, from which they infiltrate the border to Afghanistan.
"Attacks have actually increased along the border region of North Waziristan since the pact was signed," Karzai said.
Karzai added he initially thought Pakistan had signed the deal directly with the Taliban. He was disappointed last week upon hearing Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, who said the deal was struck with local tribal leaders who are hosting the Taliban.
The two countries have long been in dispute with regard to where the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida fighters are based.
"We believe that Taliban’s leadership is inside Afghanistan and much of the insurgency is located deep inside Afghanistan, far away from the Pakistan border," said Tasnim Aslam, a spokeswoman at the Pakistani Foreign Office during a press briefing on Monday.