RAWALPINDI, Jan 8: The 37 Afghan police officers trained at the National Police Academy, Islamabad, would contribute a lot towards fighting crime and maintaining law and order in their country.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said this while speaking at the graduation ceremony of Afghan police officers here on Saturday.

Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Pakistan Dr Nanguyalai Tarzi, Commandant Police Academy, Kabul, General Sayed Shir Aqa Rohani, Commandant National Police Academy, Islamabad, Asif Ali Shah, Inspector General of Police, Islamabad, Talat Mehmood Tariq and other senior police officers were present on the occasion.

The minister said the Government of Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Afghanistan because of strong geographical, historical, cultural and religious affinities. Pakistan, he said, had supported the efforts of the international community to establish peace and security in Afghanistan and rehabilitate and reconstruct its economy.

He said Pakistan had committed a grant of $100 million for Afghan rebuilding. Mr Sherpao said to develop a professional and politically neutral police setup in Afghanistan, Pakistan, which possessed good police training facilities, was a natural choice for this purpose.

The minister said the trained Afghan police officers would make a qualitative contribution towards better maintenance of law and order so that the economic activities were carried out in a peaceful manner. He said these officers would work to further strengthen the relations between the two neighbourly countries.

Earlier, Dr Nanguyalai Tarzi, the ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, said the most important duty of police was to maintain security but there were many other challenges for police and security agencies that jeopardized the entire fabric of a society. He said terrorism and drugs were the two main issues that threatened the stability of the region.

He said the Afghan government was committed to fighting these menaces with the cooperation of the neighbouring countries and the international community.

Earlier, Commandant National Police Academy, Islamabad, Asif Ali Shah in his welcome address said police officers from Iraq, Sri Lanka and the Maldives would be joining the National Police Academy soon.

Later, the interior minister distributed certificates and shields among the 37 Afghan police officers.