World | Pakistan
Kasuri calls for end to 'verbal vitriol' from Kabul against Islamabad
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri yesterday called for an end to "verbal vitriol" from Afghanistan against Pakistan and urged greater coordination and intelligence sharing to stop illegal cross-border movement.
- By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 December 21, 2006
Islamabad: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri yesterday called for an end to "verbal vitriol" from Afghanistan against Pakistan and urged greater coordination and intelligence sharing to stop illegal cross-border movement.
"We admit that there is a difficult situation in Afghanistan and on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, but this calls for greater cooperation, coordination and trust, and not trading of public insult and accusations," he said in an interview with Al Arabiya news channel.
Fencing
He renewed Pakistan's proposals for fencing, mining and monitoring of the porous border with Afghanistan, which in the past have been shrugged off by the government in Kabul. "Ironically, we face resistance to our suggestion for strengthening checks on cross-border movement, and are blamed for the consequences," he observed.
The foreign minister said Pakistan was prepared to do more in intelligence cooperation.
He said Pakistan had been maintaining its cool in the face of the allegations from across the border, the latest and most virulent of which was a statement by Afghan President Hamid Karzai accusing Islamabad of trying to enslave Afghans.
"I don't think any purpose will be served by our retaliating in similar manner. Pakistan Government leaders have shown a lot of patience," he said.
Kasuri said Pakistan had 97 posts along the border while on the other side there were barely 23 or 24.
Outposts
Underlining the need to increase the number of outposts on the other side, he said Pakistan was trying to control the movement at the Chaman border-crossing in Balochistan where 30,000 people cross daily.
"They don't have Taliban, or militant, or suicide bomber written on their heads. How do we distinguish, they look alike. So we are trying to have some sort of electronic cards so that their identities are known and the movement is thus controlled."
Kasuri however stressed that success could only come if the authorities on the other side cooperate. He said Pakistan was being treated as "a convenient scapegoat".
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