SYDNEY, March 17: Australia urged Pakistan’s rival political parties on Tuesday to work together to combat the “common enemy” of extremism, as a ninth Australian soldier was killed in action in Afghanistan.“It’s quite clear that whatever political differences the political parties may have in Pakistan the common enemy is terrorism ... it is a threat to Pakistan’s very existence,” Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told parliament.

“It’s absolutely in Australia’s national interest to continue to do our bit... with our international colleagues (to) stare down the terrorist threat that we currently find in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.”

The comments came as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the death of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan during a firefight with Taliban insurgents.

A member of an operational mentoring team with the Afghan National Army, the soldier was shot when his patrol come under fire on Monday near the village of Kakarak, north of the Tarin Kowt base. He was the ninth Australian serviceman to die in Afghanistan since 2002.

Australia currently has 1,100 troops in Afghanistan, and is expected to be pressed for greater assistance when Mr Rudd meets US President Barack Obama next week.

Mr Smith also welcomed Pakistan’s decision to reinstate a deposed top judge and end a crackdown on activists, saying the move had averted a political emergency.

“I welcome very much the news that the government of Pakistan has decided to reinstate former chief justice Chaudhry and other members of the judiciary,” Mr Smith said.

“This has very considerably defused a political crisis in Pakistan and we welcome very much the defusing of that crisis.”—AFP
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