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Taliban militants coming in from Pakistan, says Afghan Minister

KABUL: Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta on Sunday called on Pakistan to do more in the war against militant insurgency.

``We want Pakistan to take serious steps in war on terrorism and in our eyes, the war on terror should be lasting,'' he told journalists at a press conference.

The newly appointed Afghan top diplomat made these remarks amid increasing Taliban-linked insurgency in the southern region close to Pakistan.

Over 200 persons including two Americans, two French and one Canadian soldier have lost their lives in Taliban-led insurgency this week mostly in Helmand and Kandahar, the former strongholds of Taliban militants.

The militants are coming from the other side of the Durand Line, which divides Pakistan and Afghanistan, he added.

Ready for talks

However, Mr. Spanta who would be visiting Pakistan within the next weeks asserted that Kabul was ready to negotiate with Islamabad and remove all misunderstandings through dialogue.

``Afghanistan is ready to negotiate with Pakistan and find a common way for the solution of problems and remove misunderstanding,'' he said. Accusation and counter accusation has been on rise between Afghanistan and Pakistan the two frontline allies of the Untied States in war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda as President Hamid Karzai Thursday accused the neighbouring country of backing Taliban, a claim rejected by Islamabad.

``There is no truth in this,'' Pakistani foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said on Friday. ``Pakistan is not providing training to insurgents and it is not sending them to Afghanistan,'' she said. Ms. Aslam said Islamabad, which played a key role in financing and training the Afghan warriors who defeated the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, now has no role in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

``If there is unrest in Afghanistan, Pakistan is not responsible,'' she said. — Xinhua

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