ISLAMABAD, Feb 15: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday resolved to bolster security cooperation and improve coordination at all levels to firmly fight terrorism on both sides of the border.

The pledge was made by President Gen Pervez Musharraf and visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a one-to-one meeting that lasted more than an hour and was followed by delegation-level talks.

In his opening statement at a joint press appearance later, President Musharraf underscored that Pakistan and Afghanistan were together in war against terrorism.

Referring to the fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban, he declared: “These are joint fights. We are part of the coalition, international coalition but more than that it is a joint fight of Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Stating that it was ‘an evil’ affecting both Afghanistan and Pakistan, he made it clear that the onus of dealing with it was on both the countries.

“Therefore, it is incumbent on both Afghanistan and Pakistan, the governments of both sides, the intelligence agencies, (and) the military of both sides to jointly cooperate, coordinate and fight this evil.”

Answering a question, Gen Musharraf emphasised the need for a three-pronged strategy entailing military, administrative and political elements to effectively fight terrorism.

The Afghan president, who earlier arrived here on a three-day official visit, declared: “Today I am happy with our discussion and hope that we will move forward in the direction that we have set for ourselves in the fight against terrorism and in promoting better, strong economic ties between us.”

Endorsing President Musharraf’s views, he said: “It is a fight of both of us because terrorism is affecting both the countries and we will succeed when both of us will fight this evil to remove it from both countries and indeed from the region and the world. I am sure that for Pakistan the interest of peace in Afghanistan and in the region is as vital as for Afghanistan.”

In reply to a question, he said Afghanistan was interested in a more intense pursuit of terrorists.

Mr Karzai was evasive when asked if as the president of Afghanistan he was 100 per cent convinced that Pakistan was doing its best to contain Taliban elements and if he was satisfied with the cooperation being extended in this regard.

“There are areas where we seek more cooperation with Pakistan,” he said, adding that during his discussions with President Musharraf they agreed that stronger and “more vigorous efforts” would help. He hoped that the decisions taken in this context would be implemented.

Mr Karzai declared that Afghanistan’s relations with India were not at the cost of Pakistan. “Our relations with India in no way impact our ties with Pakistan. Our relations with Pakistan are very special and we are inseparable,” he said.

He described the bilateral economic ties as excellent. However, he underlined: “There is much greater room in our region for better and broader cooperation for the benefit of the people of the two brotherly countries and for the benefit of the people of the region.”

At the outset, President Musharraf congratulated the Afghan leader on his successfully completing the Bonn process. “Positive developments have taken place in Afghanistan. There is an elected parliament, there is an elected president, there is a constitution – these are very big developments,” he said, adding: “Pakistan as a neighbouring brotherly country of Afghanistan is very proud of achievements of the government of Afghanistan.”

He was satisfied with bilateral ties which he said were developing positively. “We are proud of that. Our trade interaction has reached an amount of 1.2 billion dollars and we look forward to enhanced economic relations.”

Both the leaders agreed that Afghanistan and Pakistan have to prosper and move forward together and their peace and stability were interlinked.

They condemned the publication of blasphemous caricatures in some European countries but at the same time censured the violent protests.

“We stand united against any hostile and sacrilegious acts against our Islamic values; meanwhile we need to show to the world that Islam is a religion of peace and security and that it strongly denounces terrorism,” President Karzai said in his address later at the banquet hosted in his honour by President Musharraf.

He thanked Pakistan for supporting Afghanistan in becoming a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The Afghan president delivered his speech in Pushto.