Afghan President Hamid Karzai pressed his Pakistani counterpart
on Wednesday to root out militants Afghanistan claims have launched
a spate of recent cross-border suicide bombings.
Karzai asked for a "more intensive pursuit of terrorists
wherever they may be, in Afghanistan or Pakistan."
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, after meeting with Karzai in Pakistan's
capital, Islamabad, called on "all the progressive political
elements" in Pakistan to cooperate to suppress elements who may be
abetting the Taliban.
Both leaders agreed more cooperation was needed between the
military and intelligence agencies to stop terrorism along their
shared border.
"The question of terrorism, the question of the Taliban, the
question of the bomb blasts in Afghanistan — we are in this fight
together against terrorism," Karzai told reporters after what he
described as a "brotherly" two-hour meeting with Musharraf.
Before arriving, Karzai's spokesman Khaleeq Ahmed said the
president would urge Pakistan to show the same commitment to
defeating Taliban rebels based on its side of the rugged frontier
as it does in fighting al-Qaida.
Bilateral relations have long been touchy because of Afghan
assertions that Taliban rebels find sanctuary in Pakistan, but
they've soured in recent months, with Afghan officials becoming
increasingly outspoken in blaming Islamabad for an upsurge in
violence.
In Kabul, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanezai
said Wednesday that security forces have arrested "a large number"
of Pakistanis and others linked to the spate of over 20 suicide
attacks in the last four months.
Many of the detainees have admitted during questioning that they
received training at militant bases in Pakistan and were given
money, explosives and other equipment there to launch attacks in
Afghanistan, he said.
"The terrorists who come here for suicide attacks are attending
training bases in Pakistan and are getting all their equipment
there," Stanezai said. "We've arrested a large number who are
either Pakistani or came from Pakistan."
He said some of the leaders of the Taliban regime before it was
ousted in 2001 are now living in Pakistan and are orchestrating the
attacks. He declined to name them.
Pakistan, a former supporter of the Taliban but now a key US
ally in the war on terror, has deployed 70,000 troops along the
Afghan border, and says it does its best to stop cross-border
attacks.
Pakistan has complaints of its own about the situation along the
frontier. The issue of Pakistani civilian casualties from rockets
and artillery fire originating from Afghanistan would be raised
with Karzai, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam
said Monday.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies February 16, 2006)
