 Pakistan vowed on Wednesday to help its neighbour fight terrorism as Afghanistan battles its worst violence in five years. After lengthy talks with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, President Gen Pervez Musharraf said he was committed to crushing the Taliban, their Al Qaeda allies and “Talibanisation”, a reference to the spread of hardline Islam. “The best way to fight this common enemy is to join hands, trust each other and form a common strategy,” he told reporters in Kabul days before the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks that prompted the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
| "I suggest letting them take control of Kunar and Paktia." |
The use of Pakistani territory by the Taliban, other militant groups and criminals has soured relations between the two countries. Rebels and criminals can freely cross the rugged mountainous frontier, barely controlled in parts.
| And not controlled at all the rest of the way... |
Some Afghan leaders have accused Islamabad of failing to do enough to stop infiltration, or even of continuing to support its former protégé, the Taliban. Islamabad says it does all it can and on Tuesday struck a deal with pro-Taliban rebels in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan under which the militants agreed to stop raids in both Pakistan and across the border. Musharraf pointed to that deal as proof of his commitment.
| I'll bet Karzai's eyes about rolled right out of his head... |
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