New Delhi/Kabul  - Under the very eyes of international troops Afghanistan has grown into the world's second-largest drug producer.

Despite a slight retraction in previous years the country once again accounted for 93 per cent of worldwide opium production in 2008.

Opium is the base substance for producing heroin.

Washington, Jan 31: The US Defence Department has said that deployment of additional American troops in Afghanistan is not a threat to Pakistan.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Defence Secretary Robert Gates was expected to give a recommendation on the proposal for additional troops to US President Barack Obama `in the coming days'.

Morrell told reporters here that the US had kept Pakistan informed of its intention to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

Islamabad, Jan. 31 : In a bid to strengthen mutual co-operation and bilateral relations between both the countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to convene a `jirga'.

According to The Daily Times, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Spanta here, and both the leaders agreed to deepen relations and work cohesively to improve regional security.

London  - A B

London, Jan 30 : Britain's top military commander has admitted for the first time that Americans were right to criticise the way in which British troops carried out counter-insurgency operations against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan when they were first deployed to Helmand province in 2006.

Lahore, Jan 30 : The people and the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan "need to become full partners" in any US plan to ensure peace and security in the region, a leading Washington-based think tank has recommended.

"Too many decisions are being made on their behalf, without their involvement or buy in," say Karin von Hippel and Frederick Barton, co-directors of the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.