ISLAMABAD :Top Pakistani, Afghan and Nato military commanders met on Wednesday for their first three-way talks since US forces infuriated Pakistan last month with an attack on a border village.
Cooperation between the military in Pakistan and Afghan and Western forces in Afghanistan is seen as vital as militant violence intensifies on both sides of the Afghan border.
But US impatience has grown over what it sees as Pakistan's failure to eliminate the militant threat in remote sanctuaries on its side of the frontier.
Cross-border strikes by US forces, in particular a Sept. 3 raid by US commandos on a Pakistani village, have led to calls from opposition politicians for Pakistan to end its help for the US-led campaign against militancy.
The military commanders held a meeting of their so-called Tripartite Commission at the Pakistani military's headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi to review security along the border, the Pakistani military said.
"While the forum expressed satisfaction at the current level of cooperation, it also discussed steps for better coordination and enhanced cooperation to avoid misunderstandings," the Pakistani military said in a statement.
Army commander General Ashfaq Kayani, his Afghan counterpart General Bismullah Khan and the commander of Afghanistan's Nato force, General David McKiernan, attended the talks.
Pakistan rules out foreign military strikes on its territory saying they not only violate its sovereignty but are counter-productive, increasing support for militants in a country where many people oppose support for the United States.
Top US officials have vowed respect for Pakistani sovereignty but have declined to rule out more strikes on militants in Pakistan.
US-operated pilotless drones have stepped up strikes in Pakistan since the beginning of September firing missiles at suspected militants 10 times, killing dozens of people, most of them militants, Pakistani security officials have said.
NEWS BY AAJ TV
