Islamabad, Pakistan - The Tripartite
Commission, composed of senior military and diplomatic representatives
from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, held its
thirteenth meeting in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on October 4th. Delegates
included Lieutenant General Sher M. Karimi, Chief of Operations of the
Afghan National Army, Major General Muhammad Yousef, Director General of
Military Operations of the Pakistan Army, and Lieutenant General Karl W.
Eikenberry, Commander, Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan.
The session began with each delegation
delivering a briefing summarizing its plan to provide security for the
recent successful Afghan elections, and identifying those aspects of cooperation
among the parties that worked best and those that could be improved. All
parties agreed that Pakistan's deployment of additional forces to the border
region and the coordination of Pakistani, Afghan and Coalition operations
were a significant factor in preventing insurgents from disrupting the
elections. All parties further agreed that continued cooperation
and coordination to enhance security was essential to long-term success
against Al Qaeda and terrorist movements.
The delegates then moved to an examination of the future of the Tripartite Commission and ways to expand their cooperative security efforts. The Coalition briefed, among other topics, its plan to expand intelligence/information-sharing and cooperation in countering improvised explosive devices (IED's) among the parties and its offer to plan and fund bilateral Afghan-Pakistani professional education courses at regional studies centers in Germany and the United States.
This plenary session also marked the second time that NATO's International Security Assistance Force (NATO-ISAF) observers attended the session as guests of the Tripartite Commission. All parties welcomed the observers and look forward to expanding the NATO-ISAF role in the future.
The Tripartite Commission will meet again in December 2005 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghan Chief of the General Staff General Bismullah Khan will host Lieutenant General Eikenberry and Pakistani Vice Chief of the Army Staff General Ahsan Saleem Hyat at this meeting, marking the second time that Afghan and Pakistan will be represented by four star generals.
Office of the Spokesperson
Ministry of Foreign Affairs