ISLAMABAD, June 11: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that Afghanistan and Pakistan needed to work together to stop cross-border attacks by militants. Urging Pakistan to intensify efforts against terrorists at a press conference with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Afghan president said: “The facts are so bare, the wound is so clear and hurting that it now requires both of us to work diligently and extremely aggressively and effectively to curb terrorism and radicalism in this region.”

Mr Karzai completed on Saturday his two-day visit to Islamabad during which the Pak-Afghan joint commission on peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan was launched and the long-delayed Afghan Transit Trade Agreement was put into effect.

In reply to a question regarding attacks on checkpoints in Dir and Bajaur by Afghan militants, he said he was ready to take action for stopping such strikes, but asked Islamabad to do the same.

If any evidence is found that the militants had come from Afghanistan, “it is the responsibility of the Afghan government to take action to stop them”, he said, adding it was the “responsibility of Pakistan to do the same with regard to militants crossing into Afghanistan”.

Mr Karzai said his government was negotiating with the US its military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014, the deadline for completion of transition of security responsibilities to Kabul.

“Whether some US troops will continue to stay after 2014 depends on the strategic declaration between the two countries (the US and Afghanistan), a document that we are discussing,” he added.

He said Kabul had sent a set of proposals in response to US suggestions for maintaining a footprint in Afghanistan after completion of transition of security responsibilities, which would commence from next month.

Both Afghanistan and the US appear to have agreed in principle to a long-term security accord, but details, including the size of military presence and the status of forces, are being negotiated.

A US delegation is expected in Kabul shortly for finalising the pact that would determine the nature of American presence beyond 2014.

The agreement is likely to be inked before the Obama administration announces its programme for the drawdown from Afghanistan later this month.

President Obama had at last year’s Nato Lisbon Summit made clear that the US would maintain counter-terrorism capacity in Afghanistan even after completion of transition and as long as the US and its allies felt threatened by extremists and terrorists from there.

The Lisbon declaration had also underscored that transition should not be implied as withdrawal of coalition troops from the war-torn country.

Pakistan and its principal ally China are wary of prolonged US presence in Afghanistan and had at the talks on Saturday tried to get a sense of the strategic partnership agreement being worked out by Washington and Kabul.

At the press briefing both Mr Gilani and Mr Karzai made a deliberate effort to stress that they considered US involvement in any Afghan settlement as crucial. Both leaders were mindful of the controversy that started after Mr Gilani’s visit to Kabul about Premier Gilani allegedly lobbying the Afghan president to leave American camp and align with China.

“The importance of Pakistan-Afghanistan-US cooperation for peace in the region is indispensable. The trilateral engagement will be pursued in the future,” Mr Gilani said.

Mr Karzai concurred with him saying: “I agree with you on the importance of Pak-Afghan-US core working group.”

Both Mr Gilani and Mr Karzai had before the press conference led their respective delegations at the inaugural session of joint commission on peace and reconciliation, which met under uncertainty because of the absence of American blessings for their reconciliation efforts.

The commission will meet again in Kabul in October. Between now and then the second tier of the commission comprising top diplomats and military and intelligence officials will meet on a monthly basis to deliberate on functional issues.

At the joint commission’s meeting, apart from the niceties exchanged, diplomatic sources say there were some tough issues raised by Afghanistan, including the presence of sanctuaries in tribal areas in a reflection of the deep mistrust that till recently marred their ties. The Afghan side demanded access to some of the Taliban commanders currently being held by Pakistan.

“We raised all questions that were relevant to the peace process in Afghanistan,” Mr Karzai said.