Army chief to visit Kabul

Published November 5, 2014
— AFP Photo/File
— AFP Photo/File

ISLAMABAD: Army Chief General Raheel Sharif will make a visit to Kabul on Thursday to meet the new Afghan leadership, the Pakistani military said in a short statement today.

"During his daylong visit, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif would meet Afghan President  Ashraf Ghani, CEO Abdullah Abdullah, defence minister, national security  adviser and senior military leaders," DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa posted on Twitter.

Sources within the defence ministry told Dawn.com that during his meetings with Afghan civil and military leaders, General Sharif would discuss security issues concerning both the countries as well as the post drawdown of US-led international forces from Afghanistan.

Recently, Afghanistan made allegations against Pakistan regarding involvement in cross-border shelling, which Pakistan's Foreign Office "firmly rejected".

“We firmly reject any statements vilifying Pakistan’s commitment to fight terrorism," spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in an earlier statement.

The spokesperson also mentioned that it is imperative to mutually strengthen border control and fight terrorism that is affecting the entire region. Pakistan is committed to improving friendly relations with Afghanistan to have sovereignty.

For many years, there has been back and forth retort and blame-game between Afghanistan and Pakistan regarding infiltration of terrorists and this has proven to strain the Pak-Afghan relationship.

The Chief of Army staff (COAS) is also set to have a week-long US visit which will start on November 16. He is expected to meet with Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and other members of the American defence establishment during the visit.

After the US and Afghanistan signed a bilateral treaty agreement, this meeting will be the first formal consultation between the top military of the two countries.

Opinion

Editorial

More than words
04 Apr, 2025

More than words

WITH Balochistan in tumult, the political class needs to heal the province’s wounds with sagacity and...
Poor publicity
04 Apr, 2025

Poor publicity

FORTUNE does not seem to be favouring the PTI — at least not yet. With the party’s founder confined from public...
Party pooper
04 Apr, 2025

Party pooper

INDIA’s role of a spoilsport is tiresome. From pulling books from shelves, such as Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: ...
Canal unrest
Updated 03 Apr, 2025

Canal unrest

With rising water scarcity in Indus system, it is crucial to move towards a consensus-driven policymaking process.
Iran-US tension
03 Apr, 2025

Iran-US tension

THE Trump administration’s threats aimed at Iran do not bode well for global peace, and unless Washington changes...
Flights to history
03 Apr, 2025

Flights to history

MOHENJODARO could have been the forgotten gold we desperately need. Instead, this 5,000-year-old well of antiquity ...