Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri on Wednesday called for an end to criticism of the country from Afghanistan, and urged greater cooperation, coordination and intelligence sharing between Pakistan and Afghanistan to end illegal cross-border movement. In an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel, Kasuri said, “We admit that the situation is difficult in Afghanistan and on the Pak-Afghan border, but this calls for greater cooperation, coordination and trust, not public insults and accusations,” he said. “It is essential that we maintain a level of trust and do not trade allegations publicly because that is a very important ingredient in trust building ... it is very simple if somebody attacks verbally – a response is very easy – all we have to do is wag our tongues, but it causes damage. Pakistan attaches too much importance to its relations with Afghanistan to indulge in verbal vitriol,” he added. Kasuri said Pakistan had maintained its cool, and “I don’t think any purpose will be served by our retaliating in a similar manner. The Pakistani government has shown a lot of patience.”
The foreign minister also reiterated his government’s proposal to fence, mine and monitor the Pak-Afghan border. “Ironically, we face resistance to our suggestion of strengthening checks on cross-border movement,” he said.
He said Pakistan had 97 check posts along the Pak-Afghan border, while there were only 23 or 24 posts on the other side. The foreign minister called for an increase in the number of posts on the other side. “They don’t have Taliban, militant or suicide bomber written on their heads. How do we distinguish ... they all look alike. We are trying to introduce some sort of electronic cards to keep a record of their identities and control movement,” he added.