ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: President Gen Pervez Musharraf declared on Friday that militancy was essentially an Afghan problem and underscored that border security was a collective responsibility of Pakistan, Afghanistan and ISAF/NATO.

He conveyed this to the visiting EU Special Representative on Afghanistan, Mr Francesc Venderell, who called on him at his Camp Office in Rawalpindi on Friday.

The insurgency in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai’s latest tirade against Pakistan remained the focus of the meeting during which the president emphasised the absolute necessity for all parties to understand the prevailing environment.

In this context, he also underlined the need for the international community to do more to facilitate repatriation of Afghan refugees back to their homeland.

“Views were exchanged extensively on the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan-Afghanistan relations and the government’s strategy in tribal areas,” a Foreign Office statement said.

Mr Venderell expressed understanding of Pakistan’s position, noting that the Western world was very supportive of what the president was doing for stabilising situation in the region.