NATO briefs Pakistan on region

BRUSSELS, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Islamabad agrees that coordination with NATO and Afghanistan is a vital way to bring security to the region, the Pakistani foreign minister said in Brussels.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited NATO headquarters in Brussels to meet with Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

NATO, in a statement, said Qureshi and allied members agreed that the relationship extends beyond an operational agenda. It includes, NATO said, a "common strategic goal" of a peaceful Afghanistan run by a democratic government.

Washington military planners are in close coordination with their Pakistani counterparts regarding operational plans in Afghanistan.

NATO said it recognized Pakistan's commitment to security with its support for the Afghan mission and its willingness to take on militants inside its borders. Pakistan launched a military offensive in the volatile border regions in October.

Both sides noted that security in Afghanistan was linked to peace in Pakistan, something Washington stressed when it rolled out its new Afghan war strategy in December.

Military cooperation, meanwhile, between Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO allies had progressed through a trilateral commission and through border coordination centers, NATO added.

NATO said it looked forward to a "deepening cooperation" with the government in Pakistan.