President calls for joint anti-terror campaign

ISLAMABAD (PAN): Pakistan on Monday signed two agreements on boosting bilateral cooperation in the fields of security‚ trade‚ economy and communications.

President Hamid Karzai, who arrived here earlier in the morning for a daylong visit at the head of a high-level delegation, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif watched as their finance minister inked the accords.

Following a one-on-one meeting and delegation-level talks at the Prime Minister’s House here, Karzai hoped Pakistan would help promote the Afghan peace campaign and facilitate reconciliation dialogue between the High Peace Council and the Taliban.

“It will help bring stability to both countries,” said the president, who praised Pakistan as a friend and a neighbour. Each of the two countries rightly expected goodwill from the other, he remarked.

Afghanistan was ready to engage with Pakistan in other areas as well, but insecurity and terrorism remained its primary concern, he said, suggesting a joint campaign against the menace in pursuit of stability on both sides of the border.

For his part‚ Sharif renewed Pakistan’s support for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. They had agreed the peace effort should be inclusive and Afghan-owned and Afghan led, he said.

“Pakistan attaches great importance to a peaceful‚ united and stable Afghanistan. I have assured President Karzai that well will continue to extend all possible assistance and facilitation to the international fraternity for achieving this goa,” he promised.

Afghanistan is Pakistan’s close neighbour and friend, according to the premier, saying the future security and prosperity of the two countries was interlinked. He called 2014, when NATO’s combat troops would leave the country, a crucial year for Afghanistan.

The two sides agreed to cooperate in different fields through trans-regional initiatives, including the early completion of the Torkham-Jalalabad additional carriageway‚ implementation of CASA 1000 and cross-border railway lines.

Sharif said they had also reiterated their commitments to fully implementing the transit trade agreement. The fight against terrorism and extremism was also discussed.

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