From correspondents in Tehran Province, Iran, 05:30 PM IST

Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan began a summit meet in Tehran Sunday. Fighting terrorism and drug trafficking topped the agenda.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts - Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai respectively - are to discuss the latest tensions caused by Taliban Islamist militants in the border areas.

Attention is also expected to turn to efforts to curb drug trafficking, which is one of the main income sources for the Taliban.

The joint border areas of the three states, along Iran's southeast, is known as the Golden Triangle, a place where traffickers smuggle drugs via Iran to European states.

Although showing signs of willingness to assist the US in fighting the Taliban forces, Tehran has accused Washington of having promoted, rather than combated, terrorism through ineffective policies in the region.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)