Alwaght-The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but the country is still gripped by insecurity despite the presence of thousands of foreign forces. Since then Taliban has been responsible for many terrorist action in Afghanistan causing lots of civilian casualties .
Pakistan on the other hand has been facing several terrorist attacks from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, with most recent Peshawar school massacre, which occurred December 16, 2014. TTP said that the attack was in retaliation for the army's continuing operation against militants in the North Waziristan tribal area that borders Afghanistan .
With terrorism (Taliban) being the common danger threatening both countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan pledged to face this hazard together .
Pakistan's army chief and the Afghan president have vowed cooperation between their countries in the battle against terrorism and extremism .
General Raheel Sharif and President Ashraf Ghani made the pledge while holding talks in Kabul on Wednesday December 17, 2014 .
"The time has come for Afghanistan and Pakistan to work together in sincerity and jointly take effective actions against terrorism and extremism," Ghani said in a statement .
"To restore peace and stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghanistan is prepared to independently or together with Pakistan, take serious measures against terrorism and extremism," he added .
The statement by Ghani came a day after pro-Taliban militants killed 148 people at a Pakistani school in the city of Peshawar .
According to the statement from the Afghan presidency, Sharif said that Afghanistan and Pakistan should jointly work together and take serious steps in the fight against terrorism to prevent the repeat of such acts .
Previously in June, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to work together in fighting terrorism amid Pakistani military operations against pro-Taliban militants near the border with Afghanistan .
The agreement was reached in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Thursday following talks between senior Afghan and Pakistani officials .
Afghan National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta led a delegation of Afghan officials in the talks, and the Pakistani side was led by Pakistani Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz .
Afghanistan and Pakistan inked a deal to establish a Joint Working Group on security, which will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers and deputy foreign ministers of the two countries. It will also include representatives of relevant security institutions from both countries .
During the talks, both sides stressed the need to jointly fight terror and attack terrorist hideouts within their respective territories .
The two sides also agreed that terrorism was a common enemy, fighting which needed closer cooperation and coordination at the institutional level .
Kabul and Islamabad, meanwhile, reaffirmed their commitment to building a comprehensive bilateral relationship, marked by enhanced trade and economic partnership .
The talks in Islamabad came at a time when Pakistani security forces have launched a massive operation against pro-Taliban militants in the country’s North Waziristan, which serves as a major base for the TTP. This offensive came after a deadly militant raid on Karachi Airport that ended the government’s faltering peace talks with pro-Taliban militants .
However, success of the operation in Waziristan bordering Afghanistan is believed to be a turning point on increased cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul. That was the reason the focus of discussion between Pakistani authorities and Afghan National Security Advisor was on how to secure the border and deny pro-Taliban militants any safe exit .
In recent months, relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been marred by allegations and counter-allegations of cross-border attacks. While Kabul believes that Islamabad still supports certain Afghan insurgent groups including the Haqqani network, Pakistan on the other hand points finger at Afghanistan for doing little to destroy sanctuaries of pro-Taliban militants in Kunar and Nuristan provinces .
Following talks in Islamabad, the two countries agreed to establish a joint working group to take action against all terrorists without making any distinction on their respective soils .
"Our security and future prosperity remain interlinked," Sharif noted, adding, "I ... reaffirmed Pakistan's support for the intra-Afghan reconciliation process that the new government is initiating ."
Ghani, who has paid his first state visit to Pakistan, said for his turn that the two sides would try to build better future ties .
"We have overcome obstacles of 13 years in three days," he noted, adding, "We will not permit the past to destroy the future ."
Pakistan has long been accused of playing a double game with militants groups, supporting those it thinks it can use for its own strategic ends .
However, Sartaj Aziz said that way of thinking was at an end after Tuesday, December 16, when heavily armed TTP fighters went from room to room at the school, gunning down children .
The Afghan analysts on the other hand believe that the joint Pak-Afghan fight against terrorism cannot be successful unless Pakistan "honestly" stops backing the militant groups .
"Pakistan must first build trust meaning that those militant groups who are known under the Quetta, Karachi, Chaman or Peshawar Councils must be handed over to the Afghan government," military analyst Javed Kohistani said .
Pakistan from its side is taking its combat with TTP seriously, where the Taliban commander who allegedly facilitated the December 16 Peshawar school massacre has been killed by Pakistani security forces .
In addition, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared recently that they would not allow insurgents to use their territory against Afghanistan .
Political and military leaders in Pakistan have also met to prepare a new plan to combat pro-Taliban militants more than a week after the terrorist attack on the school in Peshawar .
The agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan to fight terrorism is seen as a major development against the backdrop of recent hiccup in their ties. However, it remains to be seen if this will help the two neighbors address their longstanding misgivings against each other. Still the upcoming days will tell us how these two Muslim neighboring countries will manage to benefit mutually from their united action against their conjoint enemy, terrorism .
Experts say that in order to reach an efficient solution concerning terrorism in both countries, a long-time anti-terrorist strategic plan must be executed by Afghanistan and Pakistan exclusively. In the same context, the Federal Information Minister of Pakistan, Pervez Rasheed, recently said that to enforce agenda at gunpoint is not acceptable and that Pakistan and Afghanistan are united in war against terrorism. He added, "We want same peace for Kabul as we desire for Islamabad, therefore, no forceful imposition of agenda would be accepted ".
Therefore, reliance on exterior or international interference proved to be no good but maybe trouble when it comes to face issues like terrorism.
