By NNN-APP,
Washington : Stressing the vitality of Pakistan’s anti-militant offensive in the tribal areas along the Afghan border, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has applauded the country’s ongoing fight against terrorism.
“I would like to commend the Pakistani government and military for their fight against terrorists in the border region that is really of utmost importance,” Rasmussen said in an interview published in The Christian Science Monitor Tuesday. He said the challenges in Pakistan-Afghanistan border region are interlinked.
“I agree we have to look upon the region as a whole because many of the problems and challenges are interlinked. Definitely we cannot solve the problems in Afghanistan without stronger engagement of Pakistan,” he stated as international forces on the Afghan side fought to curb Taliban insurgency and as U.S. mulled a way forward in the conflict-ridden landlocked country.
The leader of the 28-member alliance recognized that security inside Pakistan lies with the Pakistani authorities but said NATO would be ready to assist in any way if Islamabad so desired.
He looked forward to having an enhanced trilateral coopertion between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the ISAF in the years ahead.
“I appreciate very much that we have already established a relationship and cooperation between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and [the] ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) within the framework of a trilateral commission, and we have also established border control centers in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I think we will see further development of the cooperation in the coming years.”
The NATO chief said the entire broader region has interest in “stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan,because if Afghanistan is left behind, there is the risk of it (instability) spreading to the region, not to speak of the risk of destabilizing neighboring Pakistan, a nuclear power.”