Washington: US President Barack Obama would hold a situation room meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his top national security team today.
The sudden announcement last night from the White House in this regard comes in wake of the arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the number two Taliban leader; and advance of the US-led forces against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
Both the issues including the latest developments in the region are expected to be discussed at the meeting to be attended by Obama`s top national security team.
The meeting squeezed in between a tight day schedule of the US President has been scheduled to last for an hour.
Later Obama is scheduled to have lunch with the visiting King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
Among those expected to attend the meeting are Vice President Joe Biden; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Defence Secretary Robert Gates; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; National Security Advisor General (rtd) James Jones; US Central Command Commander General David Petraeus; CIA Director Leon Panetta; and Director of National Intelligence Admiral (rtd) Dennis Blair.
The Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke; would attend the conference through a secure video conference so would be several top US diplomats and military officials stationed in the region.
Prominent among those include Karl Eikenberry, US Ambassador to Afghanistan; Anne Patterson, US Ambassador to Pakistan; General Stanley McChrystal, US Commander in
Afghanistan
PTI
