Gilani, Karzai agree to counter terrorism jointly

COLOMBO:Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday agreed to come up with a common strategy to tackle terrorism and extremism. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met over breakfast on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit here.
The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, both sides agreed that there was a need for the two governments to engage on all issues across the board with a view to developing a common strategy to overcome the challenges posed to the security and stability of both countries by terrorism and extremism.
The two sides agreed to coordinate their efforts to stop cross border terrorism.
Prime Minister Gilani and President Karzai recalled the strong bonds of brotherhood between Pakistan and Afghanistan and exchanged views on the common challenges facing the two countries in terms of dealing with terrorism and militancy.
The Prime Minister and the President decided that their foreign ministers will meet to prepare grounds for a framework for close and constructive engagement between the two countries to build confidence and develop a common strategy at the political, military and intelligence levels in collaboration with their coalition partners and NATO and ISAF.
The Prime Minister and the President also stressed the importance of closer bilateral engagement at the leadership level and at Afghanistan’s suggestion, agreed that the engagement should also lead to expediting the process of convening the mini Jirga as soon as possible.
At the suggestion of Pakistan, the Afghan side agreed to re-engage on all bilateral and multilateral forums.