Last week, the visit of Pakistani military chief, General Raheel Sharif was one of the most important events in the country. This was the fourth visit of Kabul by Pakistani Chief of Army Staff after the formation of coalition government. In his meeting, he not only met the president Ashraf Ghani but also had meetings with Afghan military officers and a number of other top government figures. According to some sources, he had come to ask for cooperation of Afghan forces in tightening their grip around terrorists of TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) hiding in the Afghan areas bordering with Pakistan. It is said that the chief of TTP, Maulana Fazlullah, who had authorized the attack on a school in Peshawar, is also hiding in these places and Afghan forces have got real close to him. The visit of Gen. Sharif was part of checking the coordination between the forces of the two countries in this area and tightening the circle around the terrorists.

Both military and political relations between the two neighboring countries considerably improved after the formation of unity government in Afghanistan. On a number of issues, the relations between the two countries had badly deteriorated in the final days of previous president, Mr. Karzai. However, the president Ashraf Ghani started to work on the improvement of the relations between the two countries right from the first day of his arrival at the office. In his official visit to Pakistan, he not only met the top Pakistani politicians but also had special meetings with important officers of Pakistani military and expressed his desire for the improvement of relations between the two countries both on political and military levels.

After the terror attack on a school in Peshawar, the chief of Pakistani military paid visits to Afghanistanand asked for the cooperation against the terrorists of TTP who had crossed the border to Afghanistan and in fact, the attack had been monitored from a place inside Afghanistan. Afghanistan responded positively to this request of Pakistan and a vast military operation was started in the bordering Afghan areas. Till then, the military on both sides of border have made considerable achievements and it is hoped that with the mutual cooperation of both the forces, the terrorists on both sides of the border would be eliminated altogether.

Along with the military cooperation, both the countries have also made considerable improvement in their political ties. According to the German radio, DeutcheWelle, Pakistani foreign minister met the US Secretary of State, John Kerry in Washington and informed him about the improving relations between the two countries. Mr. Kerry expressed his pleasure on this and congratulated the leadership of both the countries in improving the relations. According to some political experts, the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are on peak since the inception of democratic government in 2001.

Afghan government has also expressed its desire to improve the relations between the two countries and has welcomed the statement of Pakistani government which said that Pakistan considers the enemy of Afghanistan as its own enemy. It is due to these favorable relations that Afghan government agreed to send its military officers for training in Pakistan. Though this offer was made by Pakistani government for a number of times in past as well but the worsening relations between the two countries had not made it possible to happen.

According to the Presidential Palace, the visit of Raheel Sharif had some ‘enlightening messages’ which would be revealed in a few weeks’ time. According to some sources, Pakistani military chief had brought the news that Taliban have shown some willingness to come on the table of talks. Right from the day one at his office, President Ashraf Ghani had also expressed his desire to hold talks with Taliban and other anti-state forces and had always reiterated to take the path of dialogue in dealing with Taliban. This good news given by Pakistani military chief is very important and we can hope that the leaders on both the sides will be able to bring a rational and permanent solution to the problem of terrorism in the region.

It is a fact that both the neighboring countries are inevitable for each other and they need to coexist with mutual respect and cooperation. The biggest problem faced by both the countries is terrorism. If Afghanistan is under the threat of Taliban and a number of other terrorist organizations, Pakistani cities are also under constant terror attacks and it is the reason that Pakistani forces are busy in a massive military operation against terrorists in the northern areas of their country. On the other hand, the economic relations of both the countries are closely tied to each other. Afghanistan imports goods of billions of dollars from Pakistan and plays an important role in the economy of Pakistan. On the other hand, more than 1.5 million afghan are living in Pakistan as refugees and Pakistani people have treated them really gently and respectfully. Similarly, there are strong bounds of culture and religion between the two countries. Although there have been some fluctuations in the relations between these two neighbors but it is necessary that both the countries should work to promote their relations. Present improvement in relations is really optimistic and both the countries need to continue their efforts in further strengthening the ties between them.