News Analysis: Afghanistan, Pakistan seeking united stance on war against terror

High-ranking security delegations of both Afghanistan and Pakistan have visited each other's countries over the months in search of an amicable solution to the ongoing militancy, which has damaged the two neighbors and tarnished their image in the international community.

During the latest visit, a high ranking delegation of Afghanistan Border Police Force visited Pakistan army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday, and held talks with Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad, and exchanged views on the security situation along the borders between the two countries.

The 10-member Afghan delegation led by Lt. Gen. Shafiq Fazli, according to local media reports, is on a five-day tour to Pakistan over the security situation, including the ongoing militancy to ensure a coordinated effort to counter terrorism.

After the Taliban's deadly attack on a school in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Dec. 16, which left 145 people dead, Pakistani officials, including army chief General Raheel Sharif, have visited Afghanistan and conferred with Afghan officials, including President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, on ways to curb terrorist activities in both countries.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to observers, have suffered hugely due to terrorist attacks and Taliban insurgents' presence on both sides of the Durand Line, separating the two neighbors.

"Terrorism is the common enemy of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and terrorist activities has claimed the lives of innocent people in both the neighboring states over the past few years. No doubt, such exchanges by delegations would help bring together the two nations in the war on terror," political analyst Mohammad Reza Hwieda told Xinhua.

According to Afghan officials, the Afghan Taliban and associated insurgent outfits have their safe havens in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, a claim rebuffed by Islamabad as groundless.

However, Islamabad believes that Pakistani Taliban conducting subversive activities have shelters in Afghanistan, and, even the Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah, also the alleged mastermind of the brutal attack on the army-run school in Pakistan last December, has been hidden in Afghanistan, a claim spurned by Kabul as fabricated.

To improve bilateral relations and build confidence, Afghan President Ghani after assuming office in September, visited Pakistan and called for joint efforts to confront the menace of terrorism in a bid to stabilize security in the region.

Since the heinous school slaughter, Pakistani security officials, including Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar, visited Afghanistan and exchanged views with Afghan leaders, including President Ghani, on how to combat terrorist activities.

"I am hopeful that such visits will help the two countries to give up exchanging accusations and find a united stance in the war on terror," Hwieda, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Daily Afghanistan, said.

Spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Sediq Sediqi, told the local media that visits of delegations from each country and bilateral efforts can strengthen coordination between the security entities of the two countries, which is essential for peace and stability in the region. Endi