Appreciating Pakistan’s role in the renewed peace process, a top Afghan official has ‘thanked’ Pakistani government for the release of Afghan Taliban prisoners while Islamabad’s military establishment has assured that it ‘fully’ supports Afghan-led settlement in the war-torn country. The development is said to have followed a meeting between Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and visiting Defence Minister from Afghanistan General (r) Bismillah Khan Muhammadi at the General Headquarters (GHQ) on Monday.General Muhammadi led a high-level five-member delegation that met the top military officials from Pakistan.

Apart from the group meetings, a separate meeting between the Afghan minister and General Kayani was also held, military officials said.This meeting comes against the backdrop of the forthcoming trilateral summit on Afghanistan in London. The two-day event (February 3-4) is expected to draw future contours of negotiated settlement in Afghanistan with the active involvement of Pakistan.Afghan Military Operations Director General (DG MO) Major-Gen Afzal Aman, who was also among the five-member Afghan team, had earlier met Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Khalid Rabbani and he is reportedly playing key role in the renewed Pak-Afghan strategic commitments on cross-border coordination and cooperation.“We fully support Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process as a stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in the best interest of both the countries,” the military officials quoted Gen Kayani as telling Muhammadi.Sources said that the Afghan minister thanked the Pakistani government for the release of Afghan Taliban saying

“this is going to play a very positive role in the peace process”. Gen Muhammadi is further said to have appreciated what he described as Pakistan’s‘ efforts to fight terrorism and sacrifices rendered by the nation while “condoling with the grieved families”.According to the military officials, both sides agreed that security of both the countries was “inextricably linked with each other”. The meeting, officials said, was an expression of the ‘growing realisation’ that Pakistan held ‘centrality’ in the eventual negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. The two sides are also reported to have reviewed the measures on border coordination and cooperation to prevent cross-border attacks from both the sides against one another.Apart from General Muhammadi, all the other four members of the Afghan delegation are serving Afghan Major Generals who visited GHQ reportedly to meet their Pakistani counterparts. They are: DG MO Afzal Aman, Military Intelligence and Investigation DG Abdul Manan Farahi, Training Inspector General Payanda Mohammad Nazim and National Defence College Afghanistan Commandant Aminullah Karim.

They met Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) DG Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, Military Intelligence (MI) DG Major Gen Noshad Kayani, Training and Evaluation Inspector General Lt Gen Raheel Sharif and National Defence University (NDU) Commandant Lt Gen Nasir Janjua in the group meetings, the officials said.“The two sides discussed matters of professional interest, with particular focus on enhancing mutual defence cooperation and measures that Afghan National Army and Pakistan Army intend initiating for an enduring training relationship,”

a Pakistan Army statement said.Operationalisation of recently concluded agreement on Tripartite Border Standing Operating Procedures was also discussed in detail. The agreement is aimed at improving existing security cooperation and intelligence sharing mechanisms, on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, the statement added.Pakistan’s military relationship with Afghanistan and International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) stays on a positive path amidst reports that Islamabad is expected to get a key strategic role in the renewed Afghan peace process. Pakistan released over a dozen Taliban detainees, after successful negotiations with Afghanistan’s High Peace Council in November and December 2012.Last week, the commanders from the three sides had pledged continuing cooperation against the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by the militants. In the 36th meeting of the Tripartite Commission held in November last year, the three forces had signed Tripartite Border Coordination Mechanism for enhanced border coordination and cooperation.Agencies add: Afghan Defence Minister Bismillah Khan also called on President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday and discussed matters of defence cooperation and war on terrorism.

Talking to him‚ President Zardari said Pakistan gives much importance to its ties with Afghanistan.The president said that Pakistan has always taken principled stance to support efforts intended to bring peace, prosperity and stability to Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan will continue to support an Afghan-led peace process in the brotherly state.President Zardari reiterated that Pakistan has abiding interest in the stability, prosperity and development of Afghanistan and it was ready to contribute its share for the capacity building of Afghan institutions. Afghan defence minister expressed his country’s desire to promote defence relations with Pakistan.