Kabul tells Pak its peace pacts must ensure peace in Afghanistan as well

Islamabad, June 11 : An Afghan delegation on a visit to Pakistan has said that cross-border militant activities (in Afghanistan from Pakistani side) had gone up by 16 percent since the new NWFP government inked peace agreements with pro-Taliban militants in its tribal areas across Pak-Afgan border, to end violence inside its territory.

The delegation members said such peace agreements with tribal militants should aim at ending terrorism and violence on both sides of the border and not just inside Pakistan.

During a frank exchange of views in a joint sitting hosted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) at Parliament House, the delegation said "agreements should intend to end war in the region and not just on one side of the border", reported the Daily Times.

The visiting Afghans insisted that foreign forces should stay in Afghanistan as the nascent democracy was too young to operate independently. Senator Alam Ezedyar said the Afghan Army and police needed NATO support to fight terrorism.

He also said the Afghan parliament was trying to convince the Karzai government to provide a legal cover to legitimize the presence and military activities of foreign forces in Afghanistan. The two sides demanded both governments to end the blame game as it served no purpose.

Hamed Gailani, another member of the delegation, said that Pakistan and Afghanistan were not responsible for the acts of terrorism, as they were a creation of circumstance. "But, both countries are its victims and should fight it together," he urged.

The Afghan delegation thanked Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan refugees.

ANI