Afghanistan Times
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By Mansoor Faizy-KABUL: Trilateral meeting between senior NATO, Afghan and Pakistani military officials was held in Kabul on Tuesday, where they discussed different issues including mutual security, so-called Durand Line and war on terror, security officials said.
Defense Ministry Spokesman Dawlat Waziri told Afghanistan Times that the three sides discussed several issues of mutual interest including fight against terrorism.
“Afghanistan is making all out efforts to eliminate Daesh militants. We told Pakistani delegation that Afghan security forces would target fighters loyal to Daesh, and will never allow them to carry out terror activities in Afghanistan,” he said.
He said that Afghan government is committed to eliminate Daesh militants, and this is what Afghanistan wants from Pakistan to do.
“We urged Pakistani officials to adopt serious measures in order to prevent Daesh group from operating in bordering areas and also stop them from entering Afghanistan,” he said.
Islamic State, also known as Daesh, is operating in eastern parts of Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar province.
President Ashraf Ghani recently instructed Afghan security forces to conduct comprehensive military operations against Daesh militants.
As part of military operation, at least 123 fighters of the terrorist group including a top commander were killed in the past 24 hours.
Most of them were killed in Nangarhar province, an area where they had established command and control center. Their center in Kot district was destroyed by the security forces in late night operation.
Afghan security forces attacked Daesh militants’ hideouts in Achin and Kot districts, where large number of militants were killed, and 20 others were detained.
After trilateral meeting, Afghan and Pakistan officials held bilateral talks, where they disused issues related to security along the Durand Line, as part of the border management and coordination, he added.
“We discussed all range of problems, including blind shelling from other side of the line into Afghanistan’s eastern provinces,” he said. He added that construction of military facilities and illegal gates was also discussed. “We want all the issues to be resolved through dialogues.”
Officials at the trilateral meeting pledged to spare no efforts to remove mistrust and misunderstanding.
The trilateral meeting was held after tension escalated between Afghan border guards and Pakistani paramilitary forces at Torkham crossing point. Soon after skirmishes, Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai visited Islamabad for talks to remove differences over the Torkham crossing point.
It is worth mentioning that Afghanistan and Pakistan share nearly 26,000 kilometers de facto border, mostly porous. Areas along the Durand Line are inhibited by Pashtuns—sharing common blood line. Recently, Pakistani authorities restricted movement of these people by imposing ban on entry and exit of people without visa.
