Pakistan, Afghanistan establish hotline between DGMOs

The COAS held meetings with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul, and held discussions on mutual security related issues including information sharing, coordinated counter terrorism operations on respective sides and way forward for Afghan peace process.

However, the situation is complicated by a recent split by a faction within the Taliban over the appointment of Mullah Akhtar Mansour as leader – following the government’s revelation of former leader Mullah Mohammed Omar’s death around two years ago.

Ghani has recently pushed to strengthen ties with Pakistan – the Taliban’s historic backers – in a desperate bid to restart the talks as the insurgency expands.

“We welcome talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban”.

At least in public, the administration has said little about the new challenge or its strategy for confronting the threat from al-Qaida, even as it rushes to help the Afghan government confront what has been viewed as the more imminent threat, the surge in violent attacks from the Taliban, the Haqqani network and a new offshoot of the Islamic State.

A spokesman for the United States military in Afghanistan, Col. Michael T. Lawhorn, declined in an email to discuss “any current intelligence we may have on al-Qaida training camps”. Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook.

Separately, top Pakistani and Afghan military commanders on Wednesday spoke for the first time through a newly established direct communication link between them called “hotline”.

After attending a function to mark the birth anniversary of the Quaid-e-Azam, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told newsmen that representatives of the four countries would meet in line with the decision taken during the quadrilateral meeting held earlier on the occasion of the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad.

Two weeks ago the commander of USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in Afghanistan General John Campbell said there may be as many as 5,000 Isis militants now fighting in the country.

Friction-free relations between Islamabad and Kabul are considered key to international-backed peace efforts in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan sees Pakistani support as crucial if negotiations with the Taliban are to be successful.

The insurgent group wants the withdrawal of all NATO-led forces in the country before taking part in the peace dialogue.