ISLAMABAD - Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Khan Mohammadi on Monday called for closer defense cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in dealing with the challenges facing the two countries.

Currently on a five-day visit to Islamabad, the defense minister issued the call at a meeting with the Pakistan army chief at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

Gen. Mohammadi and Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani discussed the situation along the border, known as Durand Line , and the imperative of defense cooperation between the neighbors.

Gen. Kayani renewed Pakistan’s desire for lasting peace and security in Afghanistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a brief statement after the meeting.

The state-run Pakistan Television, meanwhile, reported that Mohammadi met President Asif Ali Zardari at his office.

The president reiterated his strong desire for enhanced bilateral cooperation, saying Pakistan attached great importance to its ties with Afghanistan. It said the two sides conferred on the ongoing Afghan-led peace drive and other subjects of mutual interest.

At the head of a high-level delegation, the minister reached here on Sunday evening. He is to discuss a wide range of issues of bilateral importance with his Pakistani interlocutors, said the press the attaché at the Afghan embassy in Islamabad.

Zardasht Shams told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Afghan delegation would visit some Pakistani military training institutes during the trip. (Pajhwok)