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ISLAMABAD / AP
Pakistan and Afghanistan held talks on Monday in Islamabad on last week’s deadly border clashes that killed two Afghan border guards and a Pakistani officer. A statement after the meeting said both nations emphasized the need to create a mechanism for consulting one another on border issues.
The two neighbors last week traded several bouts of deadly gunfire and artillery at the Torkham border after Pakistan started building a fence on its side, each side accusing the other of starting the violence.
Afghanistan does not recognize the present boundary, the so-called Durand Line, as an international border. After the clashes had stopped, Pakistan reopened the crossing on Saturday, allowing thousands of stranded travelers to cross. The six-member Afghan delegation, led by Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, was welcomed in Islamabad by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. A Pakistani ministry statement after the meeting said that effective border management remains vital for promoting peace, countering terrorism and strengthening relations between the two countries. Pakistan shares a nearly 2,600 kilometer long border with Afghanistan and militants operate on both sides of the border.