Musharraf Calls on Afghanistan to Join Forces against Terrorism

During an important summit, centered upon ways of defeating terrorism and extremism, which took place in Kabul on Wednesday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf outlined the recent ceasefire his country signed with local tribal Taliban groups, as representing one crucial step in eliminating terrorism-related activities of radical networks such as al-Qaeda, and called on neighbor Afghanistan to join forces in the fight against such menace.

However, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai played on a more cautious approach, stating that he would wait for the time being, to see if Tuesday's truce would actually prove successful in the long-run.

Wednesday's summit had come at a crucial time as far as Pakistan's diplomatic relationship with Afghanistan was concerned, which had been growing more and more tense following accusations from Afghanistan that Pakistan is not doing enough to crack down on its insurgent terrorist groups, but also with regard to the currently developing situation in Afghanistan, especially in the southern part of the country. NATO-led allied forces deployed in Afghanistan are challenged by a deadly surge of violence that has been labeled as being the worst since the United States led the country's invasion in order to topple the Taliban regime.

"The key obstacle in the area ... is the scourge of terrorism and extremism. This is the scourge that we have to fight", Musharraf stated, highlighting that his country would not become a safe haven for terrorist activities "Any militant activity will be addressed with force", while outlining Tuesday's agreement with the Taliban. He also advocated for "brotherly" relations between his country and Afghanistan in all departments, especially counterterrorism-related measures, to fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. "After 9-11, we are seeing the scourge of terrorism. This terrorism was in the form of al-Qaida, it still is, but it has now transformed and taken the form of Talibanization. We have to fight both."

On the other hand, Karzai lauded the ceasefire as a "positive step", yet called for time to prove its efficiency. ""Let's wait. If it works well, we are happy. If it doesn't work we'll find another way", he optimistically outlined.