ISLAMABAD, March 26: Pakistan and Afghanistan were mutually indispensable and both the countries had common interests, said Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri. In an interview with the BBC Radio, he said cordial ties between the two countries were in the interest of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said that Pakistan’s government hads raised the issue of Spin Boldak with the Afghan government. “We summoned the Afghan Ambassador and we will follow it up,” he added.

The minister said Pakistan has demanded an investigation into the incident of Spin Boldak and hope the Afghan authorities will cooperate.

To another question he said minor tension has emerged in Pak-Afghan ties as Afghan government has been trying to talk to Pakistan through media.

“We are not trying to talk to the Afghan government through media”, he added.

Mr Kasuri said: “There are many forums including trilateral and we can also hold a bilateral dialogue to remove misunderstandings.”

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao told BBC Radio that the government wanted local people’s support to flush out militants from tribal areas.

He said it might not be possible for the government to launch a search operation in these areas because of difficult terrain.

He said security forces had set up check posts to protect local people and flush out militants from their areas. — APP