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Army chief to visit Kabul for key security talks
Gen Sharif will also call on Afghan president, chief executive
Xinhua
ISLAMABAD – Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif is going on a day-long visit to Kabul on Thursday, the military said on Wednesday.
Army spokesman Maj Gen Asim Salim Bajwa said that the army chief would call on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah. This is the army chief's first visit to Kabul since the new government has assumed office in late September.
The army spokesman said that Gen Sharif would also hold talks with the Afghan defence minister, the national security adviser and the senior military leaders. The visit is deemed very important as it would provide an opportunity to the army chief to discuss security border issues and anti-terrorism cooperation with the new Afghan leaders.
As most of the foreign troops will leave Afghanistan in two months and the US-led NATO will end combat mission Afghan forces will burden the overall security. Kabul would need Islamabad's cooperation in the post-NATO security situation that would be the main topic during the talks of the army chief.
Afghan officials say that President Ghani is likely to visit Pakistan this month. Prior to his visit to Kabul, the army chief met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Wednesday and discussed with him security matters, the Prime Minister's office said.
Both also discussed overall security situation with particular reference to the ongoing operation against militancy. “The prime minister vowed to eliminate militancy and terrorism from Pakistan with the cooperation of public,” an official statement said.
The prime minister said that the National Counter-Terrorism Authority will have to be made functional to effectively combat terrorism. He said that a comprehensive strategy will have to be adopted against terrorism. He said that the nation firmly believes in the elimination of terrorism from Pakistan.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk