Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf wants Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to stop finger-pointing, and agree to "a verbal cease-fire" and step up intelligence co-operation to fight terrorism and bring peace to both countries, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said.
Afghan officials allege that Pakistan is letting Taliban militants hide out and launch attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan bristles at such charges, and Kasuri pointed to a new UN report which he said found that most of the violence in Afghanistan is by Afghans based in the country with help from across the border.
Kasuri said this is what Musharraf has been saying for months. The Pakistani leader refuses to accept Afghanistan's attempts to push the blame for the upsurge in terrorist activity on Pakistan, he said.
"What we do not like is finger-pointing," Kasuri said. "Yes, it's a difficult situation. You make it worse by finger-pointing. Let's accept this difficult situation. Let's co-operate. It's in our common interest. We want Taliban activity to end. We want Afghanistan government to stabilise, to become strong," he said. (PTI)
