ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen and Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani met in Islamabad to discuss greater cooperation in fighting terrorism.
The Thursday meeting between Kayani and the U.S. Marine Corps general was the latest in the commanders' efforts to build cooperation among the Afghan national security forces, the Pakistani military and NATO's International Security Assistance Force, the U.S. Defense Department said.
Pakistan recently reopened its land routes for supplying NATO forces in Afghanistan after closing them for 10 months after a NATO airstrike inadvertently killed 24 Pakistan soldiers last November.
An ISAF statement on the Allen-Kayani meeting said all three sides shared a commitment to expand opportunities for coordinated action against terrorists on both sides of the border who threaten the region. They also are committed to support Afghanistan's security, stability, and reconciliation efforts and share a responsibility for protecting Afghan and Pakistani soldiers working in the border region, officials said.
Kayani was quoted as saying the U.S.-Pakistan relationship should be based on mutual trust, respect and transparency, and that his meeting with Allen helped improve strategic and operational understanding between the Pakistani military and ISAF.
"I look forward to these visits and am pleased with the upward spiral in our relationship they represent," Allen said.
