Kasuri to visit Kabul for jirga preparations

LAHORE: In a bid to finalise the agenda, the venue and date for holding the proposed peace jirga (meeting of the elders) of the tribal elders on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, to be attended by President Musharraf and President Karzai, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri will visit Kabul from December 7 to December 9.

According to Tanseem Aslam, the foreign office spokesperson, on top of the agenda will be an attempt to firm up the constitution of the grand jirgas and a schedule for convening them. She added that the two sides have been in touch over modalities. The proposed joint jirga is to be held under a plan agreed by President Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai at a tripartite summit meeting hosted by US President George Bush on September 27.

The agenda of Kasuri’s formal talks with his Afghan counterpart Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta will also cover bolstering border security and bilateral cooperation in all areas including war against terrorism.

Kasuri is likely to reiterate measures that the government has taken to ensure that the Pakistani territory is not used for violence in Afghanistan. They include fencing of the borders between the two countries, introducing restrictions and check on movement such as requirement of documentation and real-time intelligence-sharing for which mechanisms like the tripartite commission are in place.