Islamabad: Recent cross-border raids along
the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier are a "common concern" for
the two countries as they work to eliminate the menace of
terrorism, Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said
Thursday.
"The fact is this situation is being created by
militants that are causing concern, damage to property and
loss of lives in Pakistan as well as in border regions of
Afghanistan," Janjua told a weekly news briefing a day after
the latest attack on a Pakistani border region by
Afghanistan-based militants.
"So there is a common concern between the two
countries and this common concern is being addressed by
Pakistan and Afghanistan," Janjua said in response to
questions about the raids and the situation along the volatile
border.
The cross-border raids were the "subject of ongoing
discussions on the diplomatic and military tracks between
Pakistan and Afghanistan", she said.
She pointed out that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
had yesterday telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to
express concern at the raids.
Islamabad has informed Kabul that it "strongly
supports the peace and reconciliation process that is being
undertaken in Afghanistan", Janjua said.
"We have categorically stated that this should be an
Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process," she
added.
Pakistan is committed to playing a "supportive and
facilitative role" in the Afghan reconciliation process and
several mechanisms are in place for this, Janjua said.
These mechanisms include bilateral Pakistan-
Afghanistan discussions and a trilateral dialogue involving
the US.
PTI
