Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is to attend the NATO summit in Chicago at the invitiaion of NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen who says Pakistan plays an important role in resolving the conflict in Afghanistan.

Pakistan presidential spokesman Farhatullah Baber told VOA that Mr. Zardari will tell NATO that the war against terrror cannot be fought only with swords, guns or bullets. Baber said economic development in tribal and border areas are of the utmost importance because unemployment and poverty lead people to terrorism.

The summit is focusing on NATO's plans to gradually hand over security control to Afghan forces, paving the way for the withdrawal of some 130,000 foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Afghan presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told VOA that Pakistan has a role in the “complex” peace process because the sanctuaries of Afghanistan's armed opposition remain in Pakistan. Faizi said Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Zadari will meet in Chicago.