ISLAMABAD, June 8: Pakistan and Afghanistan resumed their military contacts on Saturday under the rubric of Afghanistan-Pakistan-Isaf Tripartite Commission after a series of incidents including a border row that further frayed the already fragile relationship.

“The Pak-US-Afghanistan Trilateral meeting between military commanders was held today at Rawalpindi. It was attended by General Joseph Dunford, Commander, Isaf; General Sher Mohammad Karimi, CGS, ANA; and COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani,” a military spokesman said.

Among the issues discussed at the meeting were: “coordination measures at Pak-Afghan Border and Standing Operating Procedures put in place to improve the border control”.

The meeting of the tripartite commission, essentially a coordination mechanism between the three sides, was overdue and the delays in scheduling were privately attributed by sources to the renewed Pak-Afghan tensions.

Isaf Commander Gen Dunford, during his visit to Pakistan last month told Gen Kayani that “communication and cooperation between Isaf, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are critical for regional stability”.

A military source said the controversial ‘Gursal Gate’ was the focus of the discussions at the Saturday’s meeting.

Although it wasn’t clear what progress was made at the talks, the source claimed that both sides were now looking towards a political solution to the problem.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to visit Kabul. The visit is being scheduled and it is anticipated that a decision could be taken by the two leaders on the border row that further complicated the already uneasy ties over the past few months.

The ISPR had in April claimed after a visit of an Afghan delegation that the ‘Gursal Gate’ controversy had been resolved.

Afghan authorities accuse Pakistan of constructing the gate inside Afghan territory.

Pakistani officials, meanwhile, deny the charge saying Gursal was an old post well inside Pakistani territory bordering the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan that was being renovated. They instead say the Afghan protest was not in accordance with the understanding on effective border management and the recently signed Tripartite Border Accord.

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