RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa recently told a senior defence official of Afghanistan he grieved for Afghan victims of terrorism as much as he did for such victims from Pakistan, the chief military spokesman told a visiting delegation on Friday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the army chief met the Afghan defence attaché in London during his visit to the United Kingdom earlier this week.

ISPR chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor told the Afghan media delegation that Gen Bajwa had reassured the defence attaché that every Afghan was dear to him like every Pakistani. “I am as hurt for every Afghan who is a victim of terrorism as much as I am for every Pakistani,” said the COAS, according to the ISPR chief.

The meeting between the COAS and the Afghan defence official came after the March 15 meeting between Sartaj Aziz, adviser to the prime minister on foreign affairs, and Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar that was also held in London. That meeting, arranged by the UK, was part of an effort to defuse tensions between the two countries over alleged terrorist sanctuaries.

The 13-member media delegation visited the office of the ISPR chief. Representatives of the Pakistani media were also present during the meeting.

They were given a detailed briefing about the Pak-Afghan border and efforts made by Pakistan thus far to improve the situation.

The statement said that the aim of the visit was to let Afghan media know efforts by Pakistan on the war against terrorism, which is a “common threat to both brotherly countries”.

The delegates, it said, were convinced that terrorism had badly affected both the countries and only joint efforts could bring about lasting peace in the region.

It said that during the visit it was concluded that the menace of terrorism had affected both the countries and necessitated greater cooperation based on mutual trust rather than a blame game.

“The visit is expected to enable the visiting media delegation in better understanding of Pakistan’s perspective and efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region for sharing in Afghan media,” it added.

The delegation earlier also visited different ministries including foreign affairs, commerce, states and frontier regions and head offices of different institutions including the Higher Education Commission, Frontier Corps and the national security adviser.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2017