Rice urges Pak, Afghans to fight against terror

Washington, Jul 11: The United States has urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to join hands in the common fight against terrorism and work together to settle their disputes regarding ''security concerns'' so as to realise the full potential of their economic integration.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri yesterday that by doing so both the countries would be able to build their economic relations and benefit from the integration of economies of Central Asia through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India.

When a reporter asked the State Department spokesman whether Secretary Rice raised concerns expressed by Afghan Foreign Minister last week that Pakistan wasn't doing enough to stop infiltrations of terrorists across the border, Sean McCormack avoided a direct reply saying that ''they did talk about Afghanistan. They did talk about control of that border''.

He said, ''Part of realising the full potential of that economic integration is the common fight against terrorism and I think the Pakistani Government understands that as well as the Afghan Government and we have encouraged them to work together and we are going to do everything that we can working on trilateral basis to work together to address those security concerns that they may have. There are legitimate security issues in southern Afghanistan.'' Spokesman McCormack went on to say that Rice talked about her ''very good meeting'' with President Karzai.

''Her comments in private were very similar to what you heard from her when she was traveling both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan that both Afghanistan and Pakistan have a shared interest in the stability and the security of both of each other's states,'' he added.

McCormack said, ''Afghans have an interest in a stable, more prosperous and more secure Pakistan and vice versa.

Pakistan has an interest in an Afghanistan that is stable, that is secure and that prospers economically. They have an interest in building up those economic ties from Central Asia down through Afghanistan and Pakistan into India.'' Asked about what else figured in the Rice-Kasuri talks, McCormack said, ''They talked about building and securing economic ties. They talked about the importance of developing that economic infrastructure. And part of realising the full potential of that economic integration is the common fight against terrorism.'' Referring to ''legitimate security issues in southern Afghanistan'', McCormack said NATO forces and ISAF are working to address them and ''we hope to enhance partnership between Afghanistan and Pakistan in fighting what ultimately is a common destabilizing enemy.'' To another question on whether the Secretary agreed that it would be better if Afghanistan and Pakistan wouldn't air these complaints between them in public, McCormack replied that ''You know, these are ministers in their own right and they're going to speak their mind in public, but I think certainly we would encourage them, if they have any differences, to work them out and try to resolve them before they become a matter of public discussion.''

UNI