Pakistan, Afghan intelligence chiefs hold anti-terror talks

Pakistan and Afghan intelligence chiefs Thursday held talks in Islamabad in an effort to boost intelligence sharing and bridge trust gap, official sources said.

Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar, the director general of Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence held nearly two-hour talks with Masoud Andarabi, chief of Afghan National Directorate of Security, the sources said.

The meeting was held amid growing interaction between the military and intelligence officials of the two countries after the visit to Islamabad by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in December, that also paved the way for the launch of a four-nation mechanism for reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

The next quadrilateral meeting of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States will be held in Islamabad.

Sources said diplomats during the two previous meetings held in Islamabad and Kabul had suggested the interaction between the Pakistani and Afghan military and intelligence officials to boost cooperation.

The meeting of the intelligence chiefs also reviewed options to build trust that is necessary for security cooperation.

Senior military officials of the two countries also met in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Thursday and both sides "reiterated that terrorists operating on either side of border will not be allowed to use their soil for any terrorist activity on either side of the border."

An army statement said both sides expressed resolve to continue the interaction for better military to military coordination. Enditem