ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: The alleged militant safe havens in Pakistan's tribal areas and Kabul's reconciliation with the Taliban will be on top of the agenda for this week's Pakistan-Afghanistan-Turkey summit in Istanbul.

The trilateral summit on Friday (Dec 24), which is the fifth one in the series, has assumed greater significance after the release last week of Obama administration's review of its strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The review has highlighted the “continued presence of terrorist sanctuaries in Fata” as a major challenge to restoring peace to the war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Moreover, the conference is taking place at a time when Washington is putting together an Af-Pak team without Richard Holbrooke, following the untimely death of Obama administration's 'focalperson' for the region. Mr Holbrooke's departure may not herald major policy changes, but would definitely see a change in how Washington deals with the region.

Turkey, which is part of International Security Assistance Force and is involved in the security of the Afghan capital, Kabul, has been supporting US efforts for containing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Turkey in April 2007 launched the trilateral process to provide for an exchange of views on Pakistan-Afghanistan ties and their repercussions for the region.

The change in Islamabad's policy nuances towards Kabul and the newfound understanding between the two capitals to work together towards elimination of threats to each other's security may work to the advantage of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who is hosting the summit, as he works to nudge President Asif Ali Zardari and President Hamid Karzai to jointly work against the insurgents.

But still, making this nascent bonhomie succeed will remain a work in progress, at least for some time to come as underlined by Taliban's brazen attack in Kabul over the weekend, which broke the Afghan capital's seven months of relative calm.

Even though the recently-released US report has brought a renewed focus on terrorist sanctuaries in Fata, analysts see an important development in Pakistan itself acknowledging the existence of the hideouts – as reflected by the joint declaration issued at the end of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's recent visit to Kabul.