Pakistan, US and Afghanistan Friday agreed to complement each other’s fight against the terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) in respective areas of operations.
In this regard, the heads of military operations of the three countries met here at the General Headquarters, Rawalpindi at a Two-Star level security meeting. Delegates from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Resolute Support Mission attended.
Border disputes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been a souring point in relations between the two brotherly neighbours. Recently, the firefight at Chaman border during the Census process had turned into an artillery exchange after Afghan forces shelled Chaman bordering area, leaving around a dozen civilians – mainly women and children – dead and over 70 injured. One serviceman also lost his life.
The delegations were led by Afghan DGMO Major General Habib Hesari and Resolute Support Mission’s Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) Major General Christopher Haas. Pakistan was represented by DGMO Major-General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
“During the trilateral meeting, the senior delegates stressed upon the need to defeat Daesh through complementary efforts in respective areas of operations,” an official handout said.
The trilateral meeting was succeeded by a Two Star Pakistan-Afghanistan Bilateral Meeting, in which both sides discussed measures for improving military-to-military coordination and cooperation.
Chaman incident, border control & management and measures to curb cross-border fire violations were also discussed. Both sides agreed to enhance the frequency of bilateral interactions at multiple tiers through different command and staff channels to foster an environment of mutual respect, trust, cordiality and cooperation. Ends/-
