PESHAWAR, Jan 2: US Ambassador in Islamabad, Nancy J. Powell on Thursday said that cooperation between the United States and Pakistan was meant for peace and security as the two countries were linked in close friendly relations with each others.

“It is for the safety of Pakistan and United States nationals residing in this country as well,” she remarked while speaking at a ceremony to mark the hand over of the communication equipment and vehicles to the Frontier Corps at its headquarter in Balahisar Fort.

The equipment is meant to enable the Frontier Corps to better monitor the porous Pakistan-Afghan border to check crossborder infiltration of Al Qaeda and Taliban elements.

The United States has given 750 pieces of short and long range communication systems and 339 vehicles that include 166 trucks, 50 tractors, 25 troopers (Land Cruisers) and 98 single and double cabin pickup trucks.

The Ambassador said that equipment was a part of the effort to enable the Frontier Corps fulfil its responsibilities and hoped that it would help strengthen the force and enable it to discharge its functions in a more befitting manner.

Ms Powell said that it would also go a long way in strengthening and enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

The Inspector General of Frontier Corps Maj-Gen Tajul Haq while thanking the United States Ambassador for extending support to the Frontier Corps, highlighted the responsibilities of his force.

He said that the Frontier Corps mans the 1,200-kilometre long border with Afghanistan. He said that his force was part of the global effort to fight terror.

Underlining the changed role of the Frontier Corps, the IGFC maintained that the Sept 11 attacks in Washington and New York had brought about a shift in the responsibilities and duties of his force.

Soon after the terrorist attacks, he went on to say, the Frontier Corps brought the hitherto administratively inaccessible tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan under its control.

Expressing his appreciation for the equipment and vehicles worth US$13.2 million Maj-Gen Tajul Haq said that it would help improve the efficiency of his forces.

About the role of the Frontier Corps, Tajul Haq said, it was the FC’s duty to safeguard and protect the western borders with Afghanistan which fell in tribal area.

Later Ms Powell, accompanied by Inspector General of the Frontier Corps, glanced over the communication instruments and vehicles given to the Corps.

During her brief stay at the historical Balahisar Fort, Ms Powell was briefed about the Frontier Corps as well as tribal areas.