Pakistan is welcoming a U.S. military offer to take action against militants involved in cross-border raids against Pakistan from Afghan soil. Pakistani officials say the move "augurs well" for regional counterterrorism cooperation.
General John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told reporters in Kabul on November 20 his offer was meant to discourage Pakistan's army from shooting at civilians across the Afghan border while responding to border raids by militants.
“We have also offered if they [Pakistan] have a concern about anything on this side of the Durand Line [the border] to let us know and we will act against it so that it is not necessary for cross-border shelling to occur,” said the U.S. general.
Pakistani forces last week allegedly fired hundreds of rounds of mortar shells for several days into the Afghan border province of Kunar, forcing Afghan villagers to flee their homes in harsh winter weather, according to Afghan officials. General Nicholson also emphasized the need for improving border coordination to address mutual concerns.
"I think the concern now is that we improve the mechanisms for control along the Durand Line so that we may have mechanisms to consult before people start shooting and not after innocent people have been displaced," the general observed.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis is expected in Islamabad on Dec 3 for talks aimed at enlisting Pakistan’s support for implementing the new US strategy for Afghanistan. The strategy seeks to force the Taliban to join the Afghan peace process by defeating them in the battlefield.
Earlier reports had suggested that the US military chief Gen Joseph Dunford could also visit Islamabad before Secretary Mattis for talks with his Pakistani counterpart and other senior officials. But official sources in Washington now say that Gen Dunford may not visit Islamabad, at least not before Secretary Mattis.
Mushahid Hussain, who heads the defense affairs committee of the Pakistani Senate, said Nicholson’s remarks are an acknowledgment of Islamabad’s “valid and justifiable” concerns regarding security management of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.