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Published 14 Sep, 2017 08:04pm

Pakistani, Afghan officials agree to form 'action plan' for improved border security: ISPR

Pakistani and Afghan officials in a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Defence in Kabul agreed to formulate an action plan seeking to improve security along the Pak-Afghan border through enhanced cooperation, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said on Thursday.

The six-member Pakistani delegation led by Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza in Kabul also held a trilateral meeting with Afghan and American officials at the ministry.

Participants of the bilateral meeting discussed issues related to cross-border firing and attacks, counter-terrorism and coordinated actions on their respective sides along the border, as well as exchange of prisoners, ISPR said.

Pakistani and Afghan officials also agreed to make progress in line with commitments made at recent high-level meetings.

The participants of the Pak-US-Afghan trilateral meeting reaffirmed their resolve towards fighting the common threat of terrorism, with each expressing their commitment towards eliminating the militant Islamic State group from the region through information-sharing and complementary and coordinated efforts, the ISPR handout read.

Areas of mutual security interests and concerns were also deliberated upon during the interaction, the statement added.

The meetings come at a time when relations between the three countries are tense following United States President Donald Trump's allegations that Pakistan harbours "agents of chaos" in his first speech as commander-in-chief to the nation.

He had lauded India's important contributions to Afghan stability and called upon it to provide more economic assistance to Afghanistan, which further strained Pakistan's relationship with the two countries.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, however, indicated that Afghanistan was "ready for comprehensive political talks [with Pakistan]" in his address on Eidul Azha.

"Peace with Pakistan is in our national agenda," he insisted.

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