WASHINGTON, Sept 22: Pakistan and Afghanistan are discussing a possible joint force to combat fighters in the remote border region they share, a senior Afghan official said on Monday.

Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said soaring violence has stretched the capabilities of US, Nato and Afghan troops, and violence had increased threefold from 2005 to 2007.

“The year 2008 is going to be the highest among all,” he told reporters at the Pentagon. Mr Wardak estimated that there are 10,000 to 15,000 “full-time” insurgents inside Afghanistan.

He said Afghanistan had proposed a joint military task force to operate on both sides of the border.

The proposal was sent to Islamabad about a month ago, he said.—Reuters