National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz is expected to visit Afghanistan Thursday (today) amid strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad.
Besides attending the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) summit which will start on Thursday, the Pakistani top diplomat is said to be working to help improve relations between the two neighboring countries.
Relations went sour following a spate of attacks in Kabul, which the Afghan intelligence sources blamed on Pakistan.
Meanwhile, officials at the Afghan Presidential Palace said that Afghanistan has delivered solid evidence to the Pakistani government that clearly proves that insurgent networks are functioning in the country.
According to Afghan officials, the fundamental cause of tension with Islamabad is the existence of insurgent groups, especially the Haqqani Network, in Pakistan.
“The remarks of Mr. Aziz are the same as the past remarks of Pakistani officials, which they have said over the past decade,” President Ashraf Ghani’s Deputy Spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemi said, after Aziz stated the Haqqani bases have been eliminated in Pakistan.
Recently, the US National Security Advisor, Susan Elizabeth Rice, in her visit to Islamabad called on Pakistan to stop terrorist networks from carrying out attacks on Afghanistan from within their borders.
Meanwhile, the analysts stress the need for trilateral efforts by United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan to eradicate terrorism in the region.
