Afghan, Pakistani military officials meet in Pindi

KABUL military officials at their headquarters in Rawalpindi city near Islamabad.

The Afghan delegation led by Maj. Gen. Afzal Aman Director General Military Operation (DGMO) held talk with the Pakistani side headed by Maj. Gen. Amir Riaz, DGMO Pakistan Army.

The visiting delegation also includes representatives from the Afghan National Security Council (NSC), Afghan military intelligence and Afghan border police.  

A detailed briefing was given on border coordination mechanism, the Pakistani army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

It said issue of cross border shelling, terrorists sanctuaries in eastern Kunar and Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan and attack on Pakistani border village and posts from those sanctuaries also came under discussion.

The Afghan delegation was told that Pakistan only fired back in self-defence when its border posts are were physically attacked or fired upon by terrorists from Afghan territory and no indiscriminate firing was carried out.

The meeting was held in a cordial, congenial and professional atmosphere, with both sides agreeing to build further trust, continue to talk under all circumstances and evolve a robust and effective bilateral border coordination mechanism.

Both sides also agreed to meet next meeting for which scheduled is being finalised.

The delegation is expected to visit the Pak-Afghan border along with Pakistani military officials to assess exact situation at the border.

The visit follows telephonic conversation last month between President Hamid Karzai and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Both leaders had agreed to form a joint commission to oversee the security situation.

Earlier, advisor to President Karzai on internal security Rangin Dadfar Spanta had held talks with Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif in Islamabad.   

A day earlier, a foreign office official in Islamabad had said that Pakistan would urge Afghan authorities to take action against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts based on Afghan territory and not give them space to plan their operations.

Responding to a question, the official had ruled out any possibility of “hot pursuit” inside Afghanistan against TTP hideouts, saying Pakistan respected Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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