QUETTA: Pakistan and Afghan military officials have agreed to resolve the issue of border villages through negotiations which will be held after Eidul Fitr.

This was decided during a flag meeting held in the Afghan border town Vesh Mandi of Spin Buldak district.

The more than two to three hours long meeting was attended by Commander North Brigadier Nadeem Sohail and Colonel Usman of Frontier Corps from the Pakistani side, and by Col Muhammad Sharif and Col Muhammad Anwar of the Afghan Army. Late Monday evening’s meeting was the first to be held in Afghanistan’s district.

Other topics, including raising barbed wires around two Pakistani border villages Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir, also came up for discussion, sources said.

Sources told Dawn that both sided had agreed to resolve the issue, particularly after the armed clashes at the Chaman border which erupted after Afghanistan created a controversy about the two villages.

Another flag meeting scheduled after Ramazan will resolve the issue once for all.

As Afghan officials, sources said, raised objections in the meeting to barb-wiring the aforementioned villages, the Pakistani officials said that the issue would be resolved at Islamabad and Kabul level.

Pakistan border authorities hosted an Iftar party in the honour of Afghan border officials at the Friendship Gate and also presented them with flowers and sweets.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2017