WASHINGTON - Afghan Army Chief on Friday ruled out crossing the border in pursuit of terrorists hiding out in their havens in Pakistan, as suggested by some US lawmakers.
In an interview with PAN, the Afghan National Army Chief of General Staff, Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, said it would be illegal and against international norms to cross the border into the neighboring country while chasing insurgents.
He, instead, urged Pakistan to ensure that there were no safe heavens on its territory for militants.
"Going across the border means invading another country. We do not have any contract (agreement) with Pakistan to chase the enemy on their side of the border. So we can't do this," the general said.
Gen. Karimi is in the United States at the invitation of Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at National Defense University to accept his Distinguished Alumni Award. The prestigious award was given to him at a glittering function in Washington on Thursday.
The Afghan general was responding to a question on suggestions made by US lawmakers at a Congressional hearing last week that the Afghan army be ready to cross the border if there are terrorist safe havens.
"Even ISAF can't do that. They can do that only if Pakistan allows crossing the border and destroying the sanctuaries," Karimi said, as he stressed on the need to maintain a strong relationship with Pakistan and the need to increase better co-ordination with them in the fight against terrorism.
"We would rather ask our Pakistani brothers to do that in their own territory, do not give Taliban to use their soil to establish a sanctuary against us or against Pakistan. So I think, we leave that to them to deal with," Karimi said, urging Pakistan to take steps to eliminate those sanctuaries.
Karimi said if there was a need to cross the border, it would require some kind of legal arrangement with the Pakistani Army to fight jointly the common enemy.
At a glittering function on Thursday, General Karimi accepted the Distinguished Alumni Award presented to him by Ambassador James A. Larocco, the Director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University.
He also held a roundtable discussion and speaking engagements with Afghanistan-Hands Program Student and Faculty at National Defense University and Center for a New American Security briefing on the strength of Afghan National Security Forces and challenges they face.
He emphasised the importance of strategic partnership between Afghanistan and the United States because Afghanistan has come a long way and is on the right path in reaching its goals.
Karimi emphasised on the professionalization of the Army, noting that this will involve in developing the strategic communication capability of the Afghan National Army, so the Army can reach out to the people and represent, not only the army, but the government too.
The Afghan Army Chief said that the Afghan National Army is on track, with great help from their enablers, towards becoming a well-developed and ready to assume more security responsibility in this transition period and in doing more of the actual defending and deterrence task.
He claimed that with the help of International community, particularly the United States, the Afghan army is now planning, strategizing, and executing the mission and operation on their own. With the help of enabler, ANSF is ready to make this transition irreversible.