Pakistan and foreign forces in Afghanistan have stressed the need for coordination in battling Qaeda and Taliban militants who hide out on both sides of the frontier.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier heads to Pakistan Monday for talks expected to focus on the worsening conflict in Afghanistan and the financial crisis, the German government said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (IPS) - Increasingly frustrated by the "downward
spiral" that the U.S. intelligence community sees in
Afghanistan, the Pentagon appears to be moving in support of
engaging leaders of the resurgent Taliban who are prepared to
disassociate themselves from al-Qaeda.

Responding to demands for a crackdown on corruption, Hamid Karzai named as his interior minister a former official of Afghanistan’s Communist-era secret police.

The UK government mulls a radical plan to counter growing Taleban propaganda in Afghanistan, the BBC learns.

With security and economic conditions in Afghanistan already in dire straits, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that the situation will probably only worsen next year.

The cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany agreed Tuesday to send a further 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, but not to the south of the country where most of the heavy fighting has been taking place.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said that he had sought the intervention of the Saudi royal family to bring the resurgent Taliban to peace negotiations.

Gen. David H. Petraeus said in an interview that he expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it got better.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said that he had sought the intercession of the Saudi royal family to bring the resurgent Taliban to peace negotiations.