COAS offers to form Pak-Afghan Army working group

RAWALPINDI, Aug 27 (APP): Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General
Qamar Javed Bajwa Sunday reassured Afghanistan that Pakistan was open to any suggestion that would facilitate peace there.
In this spirit, he offered to form a Pak- Afghanistan Army working
group to jointly work and formulate security recommendations for
government level discussion, aimed at addressing mutual concerns, an
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement issued here said.
The COAS was in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to attend the meeting of Quadrilateral Counter Terrorism Coordination Mechanism (QCCM). Besides him, the meeting was attended by senior military leadership of other member countries, including China’s Gen Li Zuocheng, General
Sobirzoda Imomali Abdurrahim of Tajikistan and General Sharif Yaftali
of Afghanistan.
On the sidelines of the event, the COAS met Afghan CGS Gen Sharif Yaftali. In the meeting, the Afghan situation was discussed candidly, sharing concerns.
The Army Chief while assuring the fullest cooperation to Afghanistan said that Pakistan could not bring Afghan war into its own soil.
Pakistan, he said, had already cleared all its areas indiscriminately
and had started unilateral border security measures, including the
fencing. Besides border security management, other key factor for
enduring peace was dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees, he added.
The Afgan CGS agreed to the Army Chief’s proposal for forming a
Pak- Afghanistan Army working group and thanked him for his relentless efforts towards peace.
Meanwhile in the QCCM meeting, all the four leaders welcomed the
QCCM initiative and expressed the hope that an inclusive and cooperative regional approach would prove best for eradication of terrorism.
Speaking on the occasion, General Qamar Javed Bajwa highlighted Pakistan’s achievements in the fight against terrorism and
eliminating terrorists’ safe havens from its soil.
He said being a transnational threat, terrorism could only be
defeated through intelligence sharing and coordinated effective border management.
The participants also signed an outline cooperative mechanism,
which will come into force after its endorsement by respective
governments.