Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday telephoned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to condole over the loss of life in recent terror attacks in Afghanistan and build rapport with Pakistan, said a statement issued by military’s media wing.
Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor tweeted the statement, which read that the army chief “pressed upon Afghanistan to cooperate in stopping the to and fro movement of terrorists from across the border”.
The army chief suggested installing a “robust border management mechanism and intelligence cooperation” to restrict the movement of terrorists.
“Elements inimical to peace in the region are strengthened by blame game,” the statement read.
“All safe havens of terrorists have been eliminated from Pakistan,” the army chief was quoted as saying.
Gen Bajwa reportedly empathised on the “tragic series of events” that unrolled on the “people of both the brotherly countries” over the last few years.
He reiterated Pakistan’s cooperation with the Afghan government and its people to “eliminate the scourge of terrorism” that is affecting peace and destabilising the region.
“Pakistan has come a long way in its fight against terrorism of all hue and colour,” the statement read, adding that “all safe havens [of militants] have been eliminated in the process”.
“Both nations should rather focus on capitalising the gains of Operation Zarb-i-Azb in Pakistan,” he added.
Ghani thanked Gen Bajwa for his sentiment and echoed his resolve in improving peace and stability in the region.
Earlier this week, scores of protesters gathered outside the Pakistan embassy in Kabul to demonstrate against Pakistan’s alleged support for insurgents.
The demonstrators had raised slogans against Pakistan Army’s intelligence arm, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The protesters accused the Pakistan embassy of being a “nest of spies in Afghanistan” and said the “ISI supports insurgents and had a hand in recent terrorist attacks in the country”.
#COAS said that peace in both countries is in greater interest of the Region. Afghan ldrship invited COAS for a visit to Afghanistan.
The Afghan leadership had earlier invited Gen Bajwa to visit Kabul, which was announced in a statement tweeted by the ISPR chief few weeks back.
The ISPR chief said that COAS had telephoned Ghani, Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah and his Afghan counterpart and felicitated them on the eve of New Year, while reiterating the resolve to work together in 2017 for the peace and stability in the region.
