National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): The Foreign Office on Thursday said
Pakistan believed in the dialogue to reduce tension with Afghanistan
and efforts were afoot to “bridge the communication gap” with the
“misguided Afghans”.
“Afghans are being misguided by those not interested to see
peace in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office Spokesman said at a weekly
press briefing here in response to a question regarding the recent
unprovoked firing by Afghan forces at the Torkham border area.
Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan wanted to resolve
issues through negotiations with the Afghan government.
“We have shared our concern and disappointment with the Afghan
government and have also urged them to take necessary steps to avoid
recurrence of such incidents in future,” he said.
The Spokesman said the recent tension over Pak-Afghan border
was against the spirit of friendship between Pakistan and Afghanistan,
which share common religion and cultural values.
Pakistan has been making continued and serious efforts to
bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, he added.
Updating about the current situation at Pak-Afghan border,
the Spokesman said both sides were in contact with each other.
“Small irritants, uneasiness and tension is a common thing
among countries and can be resolved through dialogue,” he said.
Zakaria said Pakistan believed that effective border
management could serve mutual interests, which was basically to
address the concerns on both sides directly relating to terrorism.
He termed the border management essentially a part of Pak-
Afghan counter-terrorism efforts and said Pakistan was determined
to put in place measures to regulate cross-border movements with
effective controls.
He mentioned that more gates would be constructed at the
entry and crossing points along 2400-kilometre-long porous
Pak-Afghan border and said the plan would be executed phase-wise.
About repatriation of Afghan refugees, he said it was time
for Afghanistan and international community to step forward in
rehabilitating the three million Afghan refugees which Pakistan
had been hosting for over 35 years.
“It is the earnest desire of Pakistan to see peace in
Afghanistan so that Afghan refugees could return to their country in
a dignified manner,” he said.