Pak PM Gilani: Pak’s cooperation essential for US victory in Afghanistan; Karzai and Milibad discuss Afghan Summit in London; Holbrooke: US supports reconciliation talks between the Afghan government and its opponents;
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    • Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani speaking to parliamentarians on January 14 asserted that the US will not achieve a victory in Afghanistan without the cooperation of Pakistan.1

    British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on a two-day visit to Afghanistan met with President Karzai on January 15 and discussed issues relating to the upcoming London conference on January 28. Reports noted that Karzai discussed negotiation plans with forces inimical to his government as well as the parliamentary elections due in May 2010.2

    US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke told President Karzai during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on January 16 that America was in favour of talks between the Afghan government and its opponents, as well as for their inclusion in the national mainstream.3

    Ten people were killed and 25 others wounded as NATO forces opened fire on residents protesting civilian deaths and alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in southern Helmand province on January 12.4 The US military had fired a Hellfire missile from a Predator drone into a crowd of suspected insurgents in Helmand province killing 13 people.5

    In other developments, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded market in the town of Deh Rawood, Uruzgan province on January 14 killing at least 16 civilians, many of them women and children. It was the largest insurgent attack against civilians since September 2009.6

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