KABUL: Pakistan, Afghan and U.S. military officials are scheduled to hold talks in Kabul on Saturday to discuss military to military coordination and anti-terror cooperation, Daily Times has learnt here in Kabul.
Pakistani and Afghan Director General Military Operations will hold bilateral meeting and also trilateral with the Resolute Support Mission.
It would be the second meeting of the Pakistani and Afghan military officials in nearly two weeks that is an indication of increased military-to-military interaction after the October 1st visit of the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Afghan Military delegation headed by their Director General Military Operations Major General Habib Hesari visited Pakistan on 30 November – 1st December for wide range of discussion on key issues.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal told reporters in Islamabad on Friday that during that meeting, the two sides agreed to place Liaison Officers (LOs) at each other’s Army Headquarters and also establish Ground Coordination Centers (GCCs).
The spokesman said at weekly briefing that during the army chief meeting with the Afghan president, the two sides had agreed to a have comprehensive bilateral engagement agenda.
In the follow-up, a proposal; “Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Solidarity” (APAPS) was shared with Afghanistan on 25 November, for constructive and meaningful bilateral engagement through the working groups in the areas of political, economic, military, intelligence, and refugee issues, according to Dr Faisal.
President Ashraf Ghani during his statement at the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process held in Baku on 1st December confirmed that Afghanistan had received a paper that would provide the basis of a dialogue. A formal reply from Government of Afghanistan is awaited.
Pakistani side is likely to press for the border management to cross border movement of the militants, who are blamed for violence in both countries. Pakistani forces are currently engaged in border fencing and building of forts and check posts and want Afghan side also take similar measures on their side.
Meanwhile participants of the Pak-Afghan unofficial dialogue in Kabul on Friday welcomed the recent exchange of visits between Kabul and Islamabad, particularly consultations between Directors General Military Operations.
They hoped the current relative restrain on both sides augurs well for bilateral relations. They requested both governments to continue the course of engagement. Pakistani officials are now seriously concerned at what they call the “ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan” that they believe have been “instrumental in attracting terrorist groups from all over the world.”
“We expect that Afghanistan and Resolute Support Mission (RSM) will take action to bring the ungoverned and contested territories under control and prevent such groups from exploiting these spaces,” the Foreign Office spokesman said on Thursday.
The emerging threat of Daesh could also be one of the key issues during the Saturday military talks.
Pakistan has repeatedly expressed its grave concerns about the presence and growing terrorist activities of Daesh in Afghanistan. “We are especially alarmed at Daesh’s presence in Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan. Daesh is also present in Afghan provinces bordering China, Iran and the Central Asian Republics,” according to Dr Faisal.
Published in Daily Times, December 16th 2017.
