A Top Pakistani Vows to Work With Afghans

As violence flared along their shared border, Pakistan’s prime minister Sunday pledged “seamless cooperation” with Afghanistan in fighting terrorism and Islamic extremism.

Shaukat Aziz made the comments during a trip to Kabul, the Afghan capital, to discuss security and trade issues with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The visit comes amid increasing violence in Afghanistan, where more than 700 people have been slain since March. Officials have warned that the bloodshed may worsen before September parliamentary elections.

On Sunday, an American soldier was killed and another wounded in a battle between U.S. forces and suspected Taliban fighters in southern Helmand province, the U.S. military said.

Some Afghan officials have demanded that Pakistan do more to curb the activities of Taliban rebels and suspected Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions near the border.

Pakistan was a key supporter of the Taliban before the radical Islamic regime was ousted in late 2001 by Afghan forces backed by a U.S.-led invasion, but in recent years the Islamabad government has deployed more than 70,000 troops near the Afghan border to capture militants.

“Terrorism knows no borders,” Aziz told reporters. “So if there is trouble in Afghanistan, it affects Pakistan and vice versa. So what we have agreed is to have seamless cooperation in the security area, to enhance it substantially.”