Afghans shout slogan against the construction of a military gate near the Pak-Afghan border area.— Photo by AP

KABUL: A delegation of Afghan army officials, headed by Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Afghan National Army Major General Afzal Aman, visited General Headquarters (GHQ) and met Major General Ashfaq Nadeem Ahmed, DGMO Pakistan Army for talks over border coordination issues.

The meeting was held in a cordial environment, said a statement issued by the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR).

All ongoing cross-border coordination issues including construction of a border post in Mohmand Agency were discussed and amicably resolved.

Both sides agreed on continuation of such bilateral interactions to enhance bilateral border coordination and reduce space for detractors.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Afghan university students in the eastern city of Jalalabad also took to the streets on Monday to protest the building of the Pakistani military gate in what the Afghan defence ministry says is inside Afghanistan.

The incident is the latest in rising tensions between the two sides, whose attempts to lure the Taliban to the peace table have stalled amid their feuding.

Pakistani support for the Afghan peace process is considered essential because of the two countries' long, porous border.

The protest was sparked by a statement on Sunday by Afghan President Hamid Karzai who ordered his top officials to take immediate action to remove the gate and other “Pakistani military installations near the Durand Line”.

The Durand Line is the 1893 British-mandated border between the two countries. It is recognised by Pakistan, but not by Afghanistan.

Afghanistan maintains that activity by either side along the Durand Line must be approved by both countries.

“Establishing a gate by Pakistan on the Durand Line and inside Afghanistan is against all international norms,” Afghan defence ministry spokesman, General Zahir Azimi, told a news conference on Monday.

“We will use all options to remove whatever they have built,” he added, without elaborating.

That came on the same day as university students in the Surkhroad district of Nangarhar province demonstrated against the Pakistani gate.

Protesting against Pakistan, the students marched from Nangarhar university and blocked the main highway between Kabul and Jalalabad for about an hour.

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