Afghanistan's enemy is Pakistan's enemy, says army chief

Published February 17, 2015
General Raheel Sharif meeting with Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. -ISPR Photo
General Raheel Sharif meeting with Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. -ISPR Photo

ISLAMABAD: While meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday, Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif said that Afghanistan's enemy is also Pakistan's enemy, ISPR said.

He said this during his visit to Kabul on Tuesday where the army chief held important meetings with Afghan president as well as CEO Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

During his meeting with Ghani, both the leaders pledged support to each other in their fight against terrorism and vowed to restrict the use of their soil against each other, said the ISPR statement .

Both countries also agreed to continue the ongoing operation against militants in their respective countries, the statement added.

General Raheel also met with Afghan CEO Dr Abdullah Abdullah who acknowledged the overall positive trajectory in bilateral relations. Abdullah also talked about progress in border management and intelligence sharing.

Earlier, General Raheel along with Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar arrived in Kabul for a one-day official visit.

During their stay in Kabul, the army chief and DG ISI met the Afghan civil and political leadership, a statement issued by ISPR said.

Sources had said issues relating to security at the Pak-Afghan border would be discussed in the meetings between the Pakistani and Afghan military leadership. Coordinated operations along the Pak-Afghan border would also be reviewed in the talks.

The senior military leadership of both countries would also discuss ongoing cooperation in counter-terrorism, particularly action taken against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts on Afghan territory.

According to sources, the Pakistani military leadership would also reiterate the demand for early capture of TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah, who is currently hiding in Afghanistan near the border.

In December last year, Gen Raheel visited Kabul in the wake of the deadly Peshawar school attack and sought handover of Mullah Fazlullah who is wanted for terrorism cases in Pakistan.

Know more: Gen Raheel visits Kabul, seeks handover of Mullah Fazlullah

The army chief had shared classified intelligence details with the Afghan officials and revealed to them that the mastermind behind the Peshawar attack, who was from Afghanistan, was giving directives to terrorists.

Gen Raheel had also met International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) commander General Joseph Dunford. Dunford had condemned the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar and had assured Pakistan of complete cooperation in countering terrorism and in security-related matters.

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