THE leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan will attempt today to bury their differences and agree a joint strategy to combat Islamic militants operating on both sides of their border.

As Nato forces fought an estimated 700 Taleban rebels in southern Afghanistan, President Musharraf prepared to make his first visit to Kabul for nearly two years, where he hopes to repair relations with President Karzai.

“We hope it will be a major, positive step for relations between the two countries and for co-operation in fighting terrorism,” a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry said.

Kabul and Islamabad have been blaming each other for allowing Islamic militants to cross the 1,500-mile (2,400km) frontier and attack security forces. Yesterday Pakistan took a big step towards ending the fighting in the lawless Waziristan region when it signed a peace deal with tribal leaders. The agreement commits local militants to halt attacks on both sides of the border.

In return Pakistan will reduce its military presence and compensate tribesmen whose relatives have been killed or whose properties have been damaged.

A key provision of the deal is that tribesmen will expel foreign fighters from the area. The region is believed to be a haven for al-Qaeda fighters and members of the former Taleban regime in Afghanistan. Without a base in Pakistan their operations could be seriously disrupted.

The Government in Kabul, supported by thousands of Nato troops, is struggling to contain the worst violence in the country since the overthrow of the Taleban nearly five years ago.

In the latest battle yesterday, some 60 suspected Taleban fighters were killed in clashes with Nato forces in Kandahar. The fighting, which is part of Nato’s Operation Medusa, began on Saturday.

More than 2,000 Nato and Afghan troops have moved into the area of Pashmul, 15 miles southwest of Kandahar. Since Operation Medusa started, more than 260 Taleban militants have been killed, along with 19 Nato troops. Of the Nato dead 14 were Britons who were killed when their Nimrod reconnaissance plane crashed on Saturday.

Major Scott Lundy, a Nato spokesman, said that some of the militants were in fortified compounds, while others were moving in the open. The militants are spread across an area of several hundred square kilometres. “They are contained,” Major Lundy told The Times. “It is a complex battle space. Some [Taleban] elements are fixed, others are moving.”

Major Quentin Innes, another Nato spokesman, said: “We are closing the circle on the Taleban — we have got the Taleban in a bit of a trap.”

The areas of Panjwayi and Zhari, collectively known as Pashmul, are perfect guerrilla terrain. Mud-walled compounds and mud sheds, which can withstand heavy artillery, provide ideal bases for fighters.

Militants have been known to fight with a suicidal zeal, hiding in ditches and willing to die just so they can fire one shot at Nato troops.

Nato took the unusual step of warning residents to leave the area before its offensive. Many have stayed to support the Taleban, which remain popular in the region.

• President Talabani of Iraq has told Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, that British troops will be able to return home by the end of next year (Ned Parker writes). Mr Talabani made his prediction at a news conference with Mrs Beckett in Baghdad.

  He said: “I don’t think fighting will continue until then if the steps of national reconciliation go according to plan. If some groups are still fighting then, our forces will be able to take care of it.”

  Mrs Beckett, on her first visit to Baghdad since taking office, said: “That is the President’s personal opinion. If the President is right about the acceleration of the peace process no one will be more happy than us.”

  TWO LIVES CUT SHORT, TWO TROUBLED FRONTS FOR BRITAIN

  Private Craig O’Donnell, 24, above left, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul on Monday, had been looking forward to the birth of his first child this Christmas. He was due to move into married quarters with his girlfriend, Jessica. He grew up in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, and joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. He had been in the Afghan capital since July.

  Gunner Stephen Wright, 20, above right, who was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq on Monday, was serving with 58 Battery, 12 Regiment Royal Artillery. He had enlisted in 2002 and the tour of Iraq was his first. Gunner Wright, who was from Leyland, Lancashire, and was nicknamed “Trigger”, had been selected to attend a promotional course on return to his base in Germany. He was single.

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