Pakistan offers talks to Afghanistan to resolve border issue

Pakistan on Thursday invited Afghanistan for talks to deescalate the current tensions along a busiest border crossing that has caused casualties on both sides.

Border troops started clashes along the Torkham border at the weekend over the construction of a gate.

Pakistan military says it is building the gate some 40 meters inside its territory but Afghanistan argues Pakistan cannot build the gate as "status of the border is disputed."

Guns are silent as both sides have now declared ceasefire but tensions persist.

Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz told the parliament on Thursday that he has invited Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar to visit Islamabad to find out solution to the issue.

Afghan ambassador in Islamabad Omar Zakhilwal discussed the proposal of high level talks when he met with senior Pakistani military officials on Wednesday.

"To break the current tension and show that we were on to resolving this peacefully, a conversation at the leadership level was needed." Ambassador Zakhilwal said in a statement.

He also called for an immediate high level Joint Pak-Afghan military coordination meeting to resolve this issue expeditiously and amicably.

Aziz defended Pakistan's plan to secure the border to check the infiltration of the militants and curb drug smuggling.

"Pakistan believes that effective border management is a key to enhancing security and checking infiltration of terrorists along Pakistan, Afghanistan border," he said in the National Assembly or Lower House of the parliament in a policy statement.

The Adviser reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to completing construction work at Torkham as this is a part of the plan to strengthen border controls and regulate movements across border.

"Effective border management is vital for enhancing security of both Pakistan and Afghanistan," Aziz further said, adding "it is also important for efforts for combating threat of terrorism as unregulated movement provide opportunity for infiltration of terrorists and smugglers across the border, which is not in the interest of the two countries."

Pakistan and Afghanistan have nearly 2,600 km border, mostly porous, and the militants take advantage of the loose control.

In order to strengthen monitoring, Pakistan introduced a new mechanism that has made it obligatory for every Afghan to carry passport and visa to enter Pakistan from June 1.

People living near the borer areas on both sides earlier moved across the border without travel documents.

SOURCE : XINHUA