DUSHANBE (AFP) – The presidents of Pakistan and Tajikistan on Wednesday pledged to step up efforts to fight militants, at the opening of a regional summit that will include the Russian and Afghan leaders.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari pledged to work with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on stemming the flow of weapons and ammunition to militants in the region.
The two states “condemn terrorism and extremism in all their forms and manifestations and express their readiness to cooperate closely, bilaterally... in combating these twin threats,” a memorandum signed by the leaders said.
Zardari spoke bluntly about the deteriorating security situation in the region.
“It (terrorism) threatens my brother's country, it threatens my country and it threatens the neighborhood. So once again I reiterate that we will stand together against this threat of the 21st century,” Zardari told reporters.
Tajikistan, which shares a porous 1,600 kilometer (995-mile) border with Afghanistan, has been battling militants suspected of having fled security operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan for three months in its remote eastern mountains.
A pair of explosions in the Tajik capital Dushanbe over the weekend further underscored the increasing tension in the Central Asian state as violence continues to spiral upwards in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ex-Soviet Tajikistan fought a bloody civil war in the 1990s against Islamist forces that left tens of thousands dead.
Dushanbe has expressed fears that further violence could spill over into the country as Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in August, and has sent troops to the border to stop militants entering the country.
Taliban attacks have reached record highs in Afghanistan, U.S.-led military forces in the country have said, and there are fears the trend will continue as insurgents aim to undermine the presidential election.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has vowed to hold talks with the Taliban insurgency in his country if re-elected.
Photo: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon inspect guard of honor in Dushanbe on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (Photo by APP)