WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will attend asummit of NATO leaders in Chicago this weekend, the PakistanEmbassy in Washington said on Tuesday, ending speculation Islamabadmight be excluded from the high-level talks on Afghanistan'sfuture. Nadeem Hotiana, an embassy spokesman, confirmed Zardari'sattendance at the May 20-21 summit, a sign Washington and Islamabadmay finally be able to significantly improve ties following theNATO air strike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers andprompted Pakistan to shut NATO supply routes into Afghanistan. "This meeting will underline the strong commitment of theinternational community to the people of Afghanistan and to itsfuture. Pakistan has an important role to play in that future,"NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in a statement. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is also expected to attend themeeting, where NATO nations will hone their plans to withdraw mostof their troops by the end of 2014. As the Western presence ebbs,Pakistan, whose tribal areas are home to Taliban and othermilitants, will be key in shaping Afghanistan's future. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen suggested on Fridaythat Pakistan could be excluded from the summit if it failed toreopen the supply routes to Afghanistan. Rasmussen noted that other countries providing supply routes toNATO had been invited to the summit. Pakistan boycotted aninternational conference on Afghanistan in Bonn in December inprotest against the NATO air strikes the previous month. Pakistan had demanded a formal apology from the United States forthe border attack before it reopens the supply routes and calledfor an end to U.S. drone strikes on its tribal areas. U.S. and Pakistani officials are continuing talks in Islamabadaimed at reopening those ground supply routes. Pakistan now says itexpects the routes to reopen; Pentagon spokesman George Little toldreporters on Tuesday that the U.S. military hoped that would occurin the "very near future." In a statement, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's office saidministers had backed a proposal to allow NATO to send onlynon-lethal equipment into Afghanistan on Pakistani roads. "It was also decided that the military authorities should negotiatefresh border ground rules with NATO ... to ensure that (suchborder) incidents do not reoccur," the statement said. (Reporting by Sebastian Moffett in Brussels; Additional reportingby Sheree Sardar in Islamabad and Missy Ryan and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Cynthia Osterman ). I am an expert from jsczhy.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Automobile Suspension Parts Manufacturer , Turnover Mechanism, Manual Recliner,and more.
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