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June 28, 2008
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Saturday
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Jamadi-us-Sani 23, 1429
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Islamabad, Isaf to reactivate tripartite commission
By Baqir Sajjad Syed
ISLAMABAD, June 27: Pakistan’s military authorities and Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan agreed on Friday to reactivate the tripartite commission. According to defence sources, the next meeting of the commission will take place next month.
The agreement was reached during meetings of visiting Isaf Commander Gen David McKiernan with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Tariq Majeed and National Security Adviser Maj-Gen (retd) Mehmood Durrani. Gen McKiernan, who recently took charge of the 53,000-troop Isaf, was on his first visit to Pakistan.
The commission, which brings together representatives of the Pakistan Army, Afghanistan National Army and Isaf for coordinating action against militants, has not met in the last four months.
During this period a subordinate mechanism of the commission, called the border security sub-committee, kept functioning.
During his meetings, Gen McKiernan focused on building closer relationships with Pakistani officials for better coordination in their efforts to improve security along the troubled frontier.
“General Tariq stressed the need to develop trust-based relations at all levels among coalition partners and to comprehensively understand the prevailing dynamics,” an ISPR statement said.
Regretting the Mohmand Agency incident, Gen McKiernan expressed sadness over the death of 11 paramilitary troops killed in the US air strike earlier this month.
The sources said the visiting Isaf commander also discussed the overall security situation in the region, situation on Pakistan-Afghanistan border, illegal cross-border movements of militants and the ongoing military cooperation and intelligence-sharing between Pakistan and Isaf.
Pakistan’s military authorities deplored the allegations and vitriolic statements emanating from Kabul, unequivocally telling Gen Mckiernan that the blame game started by Afghanistan would harm cooperation in the “war on terror”.
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