Pakistan’s military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, traveled to neighboring Afghanistan Sunday for a daylong official visit to discuss ways to enhance bilateral counterterrorism and border security cooperation.
The general is scheduled to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and military counterparts in Kabul, according to the media wing of Pakistan army. Afghan officials told VOA the defense minister, the national security adviser, and others will assist Ghani in talks with Bajwa at the presidential place.
Bilateral ties have been marred by mistrust and suspicion, with both Islamabad and Kabul routinely blaming each other for backing fugitive anti-state militants to plot terrorist attacks against the other.
Bilateral talks
General Bajwa is expected to reiterate offers of training for Afghan soldiers and police personnel in Pakistani institutions and emphasize the need for the two countries to resolve differences by relying on bilateral mechanisms and dialogue.
The U.S.-backed Afghan government insists that sanctuaries on Pakistani soil have enabled the Taliban to sustain and expand insurgent operations in Afghanistan during the past 16 years. Recent assessments have put the Islamist insurgents in control of more than 40 percent of Afghan territory.
Pakistani authorities deny charges they are supporting the Taliban. In turn, they blame the Afghan intelligence agency for sheltering fugitive anti-state militants who are plotting deadly attacks against Pakistan.
Washington supports the Afghan assertions. President Donald Trump unveiled his new strategy for the Afghan war in August, and he criticized Islamabad’s counterterrorism efforts and urged the country to undo terrorist havens on its soil.
Pakistan: Failures aren't ours
Islamabad insists it is being scapegoated for failures of the U.S.-led international efforts to defeat the Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan.
The Pakistan military says its sustained counterterrorism operations in the past few years have dismantled all “militant hideouts” in the country. It also cites the building of a fence and new security outposts on its nearly 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan.
Officials say the border management project is expected to be completed within the next two years and is key to deterring illegal infiltration along a largely porous frontier.
The Pakistani government also has been campaigning for resolving the Afghan conflict through peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, and it strongly opposes further militarization of the war, already the longest overseas military engagement in the U.S. history.
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