Pak NSA to visit Kabul as tensions along Durand Line intensify

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 7: Pakistan's National Security Advisor, Moeed Yusuf, will visit Kabul, as tensions along the Durand Line, the de facto boundary between the two nations, have intensified.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC), which was presided over by Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser in Islamabad on Thursday, reported TOLOnews.
"A senior delegation of Pakistani officials, headed by the NSA, is scheduled to visit Afghanistan soon for further engagement with the Afghan government on all assistance-related prospects," the official statement said.
During the meeting, no date for the NSA's visit was disclosed. However, a Pakistani source informed the media that the visit will most likely take place between January 17 and 18. "We will finalize the delegation in a couple of days and then decide the date," the official said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, has stated that the world must not desert the Afghan people in their hour of need, reported the news channel.
He stated that peace and security in Afghanistan provide significant prospects for not only the Afghan people but also Pakistan in terms of increased commerce and connection to Central Asian nations.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have asked for both parties to engage in dialogue on the matter.
Earlier, Pakistani Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar on Wednesday confirmed that the fencing of the 2,600km-long border with Afghanistan will be completed despite the Taliban's statement that they will not allow fencing by Pakistan on the Durand Line.