WASHINGTON, Nov 13: Afghanistan’s foreign minister on Thursday urged Islamabad to crackdown on Taliban leaders inciting strife in his country from Pakistani territory, a day before he is expected at the White House.

Abdullah Abdullah bolstered a call he made for the first time during his trip to Washington on Monday, when he called for “meaningful help” from Islamabad on Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents believed to be slipping over the Pakistani-Afghan border at will.

“There is one clear fact, that the Taliban will not be able to operate outside Afghanistan without some support from some elements outside Afghanistan,” Abdullah said in a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“They have found it easy to operate outside Afghanistan, to hold meetings, to incite instability, to call for jihad in Afghanistan.”

Pressed on which country he was referring to, Abdullah said “we are engaging with all our neighbours, especially with our neighbouring country Pakistan, because most of these people are in Pakistan.”

Mr Abdullah said that relations with Pakistan were improving and that the US was also involved in a three-way process designed to cut down on border incursions.

Gen John Abizaid, head of US Central Command, on Thursday praised Pakistan for “robust military action” in its territory along the Afghan border.

US forces on Monday unleashed a fresh offensive against militants in Afghanistan’s Nuristan and Kunar provinces. Officers declined to detail targets, but there were signs that forces loyal to renegade Islamist warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were in US sights.

Hekmatyar is believed to have formed a loose alliance with Taliban and al-Qaeda militants and his supporters have been blamed for attacks on international peacekeepers in Kabul.

Washington is increasingly concerned that Al Qaeda and Taliban members have been at least partially able to regroup in Pakistani cities and rugged border areas, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service.—AFP