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Afghan army cadets arrive in Pakistan for training
ISLAMABAD: Six Afghan army cadets have arrived in Pakistan for training in another sign of increased cooperation after years of distrust between the two neighbours, the BBC reported.
The cadets will be the first Afghans to attend the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad.
The move is a policy shift by the Afghan govt who until recently sent Afghan cadets to get trained mostly in India.
Janan Mosazai, Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, called the 18-month stint "an important step".
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who was elected in September, recently held talks with Pakistani officials in the hope of greater cooperation between their two militaries.
Read more: Offer to train Afghan troops renewed
His predecessor, Hamid Karzai, routinely criticised Pakistan for allegedly sheltering militant groups.
Pakistan always rejected such complaints and accused Afghanistan of failing to stop cross-border attacks.
Since Taliban militants attacked a school in Peshawar, killing more than 150 people in December, military chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to co-ordinate military operations along their border.
Pakistan first offered training to Afghan security forces in 2010 at a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation conference in Brussels.
The proposal was aimed at bridging trust deficit between the two countries.
Three years later an Afghan defence delegation led by defence minister Bismillah Muhammadi visited Pakistan in 2013 for inspecting Pakistani training facilities.
The Afghan delegation’s visit was then seen as a paradigm shift in Afghanistan’s perceptions about Pakistan.
Comments (57) Closed
much better now
watch out for the spies !
I hope this is the beginning of a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries, so we can live peacefully.
Bravo Pakistan, Bravo Afghanistan. Once again welcome to Pakistan.
a good positive step
Great step by Afghanistan-Pakistan. These are the areas where cooperation would lead to collective peace. Good going new Chief and Ashraf Ghani.
@uhu You don't have to worry about that.We are two brotherly nations with a lot of similarities,like, language culture & religion etc.
@Hammad I hope so as well for the common good of our two nations.
Do you think it is going to work, us being trouble makers? I doubt it, next guy is being lot smarter than the other one, he will use us from both ends, LOL!
@omer khan shaheen Yes welcome to Pakistan
Afghan are our brothers and Pakistan is their second home.
Good...this will put one of the many conspiracy theories to rest.
They coming to look for mullah Omar
Good positive step. But, how come, only Pakistan has the right to allege & complain. If anyone else alleges, immediately they are branded liars!!!!
Good move
Will they be taken for tour to OBL compound ?
WELCOME
A very good move indeed.Opportunity previously lost to cement relations between two countries is being revoked.Afghan should look towards Pakistan than any other country as their success and Pakistan success lies in close cooperation.They are our brothers and other regional forces are trying to exploit the previous tense relations between two countries.
Welcome Afghan Gentlemen Cadets!!!!...Welcome to Pakistan and its prestigious Military Academy!!! ...
Indians where are your comments here....How have you absorbed this news???
This is a welcomed development . It is our honour to train our brothers from Afghanistan to help them bring stability to their nation. Long live Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Great positive news. Both countries need eachother and must look to the future.
Oh, I hope these cadets do not later become enemies of Pakistan. That's how Afghanis have always behaved.
We welcome cadets from brother country.no doubt Pakistan is their second home
@Zainullah Khan Didn't Karzai has the same similarities,like, language culture & religion etc.? It's an old saying, once you get burns by lightings, you get worry every time it rains.
Welcome.
Welcome, khushAmdeed, hoşgaldenez. It is time that our Afghan brothers recognize true enemies (of east and west) vs true brothers/friends. From Peshawar to Kabul to Samarkand to Istanbul our forefathers have fought battles together
I see martial law in Afghan future...a chapter from the Pakistan playbook.
Will this lead Ashraf Ghani to close one thousand Embassies that India has there?
Welcome to Pakistan Ikhwaan (brothers)!
Why would indians show interest in any thing with good prospects for Pakistan.
I would keep them at arms distance. These are the same stock of troops who shot at their NATO allies. But anyways good luck. Kakul is one of the best military acadenies in the entire continent.
Ultimately these guys have to work under india's instruction
good news for both two countries
good news for both two countries.
@Zia : What's there to absorb...Pakistan has considerably more experience in dealing with lawlessness and internal threats...they are an obvious choice for Afghanistan in this respect
Good pakistan ..just give them the correct training to hunt down afghan Taliban.
They should not be allowed to attend any Pakistani institutions because they are clever for espionage. The afghans already have done damage to Pakistan.
@Zia Not at all interested! Hope they get a good training to go back with some good military skills to help out afghanistan against terror!!!:):)
@Zia This should be the biggest achievement for Pakistan.. :-) right ? anyway we welcome this move from Afghanistan . good for both countries... Don't see the reason for you pin pointing India ..
@Zia
India's relations with Afghanistan are purely economic.
@Zia there is nothing here to comment my friend..!! its common thing we trained them in past...!! so don't be kiddy
Safety first. To start with let no one from Northern tribes join PMA. Once the relations improve further, this can be reviewed.
@ROHIT PANDEY "Not at all interested!" Obviously not.
@kazar And they will send us more refugees.
@Zia FYI, Officers from Afghanistan and soldiers from Afghanistan are trained in India on counter insurgency for several years. Apart from it several of the ruling elite have also graduated from Universities in India (Karzai and Abdullah just to name a few). Please go ahead and train them to fight terrorists who mainly come across from their eastern border
@Monal Never thought of Afghans becoming enemies when India was receiving their armed forces , but when Pakistan is training , we are being advised to be careful. Such typical hypocracy, no principles in their nature.
@Akram Definitely NOT! Military skills,commando skills,SEAL skills ..do not have much relevance in present day world.It is economics and more economics...where REAL POWER is in!:)
3/4 Afghans want India in Afghanistan.....for the simple reason that India lays roads,trains afghans in agriculture and other skills and builds a new parliament building for them!
About $1 billion spent so far and more to come as new demand arises!
Afghans need peace and quiet after nearly 35 years of war and India is trying it's best don't you think?
Pakistan and Afghanistan are going to prosper togather.
The Afghans will be proud to be trained in PMA, Abbottabad. One of the top military academies in the world, as described by a British General.
@Rev. Eldrick Lal True
Great move!!
@Zia yes we are providing money for this training.
Thats good step by Pak. , Also they should start training students as India does.
@Zak Wow!! That IS impressive!!!
Both Pak and Afghanistan have a common enemy, they need to work together to eliminate them. India will be less concerned if the borders are quite and peaceful all the way from Afghan to India and region can prosper a lot like any other developed country.
If' I were an Afghan infantry officer I'd definitely want to take my men to training in Pakistan. Officers should attend as many schools they can access. I would also want liaison with the Pakistan army. Enlisted men should want as many useful military classifications as they can manage. It will mean greater rank to volunteers. If they are lucky they may stay or return for airborne training. Then Pakistani paratroops can trust Afghan paratroopers as reliable in battle, and neither will leave the others them behind in a firefight.
The Afghans will feel safer training in Pakistan. After the trainees will feel more esprit de corps and a stronger connection to each other. They will be more determined to protect each others lives, That how experienced soldiers function.