Kabul looks for anti-terror unity with Gilani

KABUL  ( 2008-03-25 15:45:13 ) : 

Afghanistan said on Tuesday it hoped the election of a new government and prime minister in Pakistan would lead to closer co-operation in efforts to fight extremism plaguing both countries.
President Hamid Karzai issued a statement congratulating Yousuf Raza Gilani who was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday.
Karzai "deemed terrorism and extremism a serious problem against stability and development in the region and hoped the new Pakistan parliament and prime minister achieve huge success against this destructive phenomenon," it said.
The president also wanted relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan -- both key allies in the United States' so-called "war on terror" -- to expand under Gilani, the statement said.
Ties between the neighbours are fragile with both accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle militants behind a wave of violence on both sides of the border.
The Afghan defence ministry said separately that the election showed people in Pakistan "are weary of extremism."
It also "in part promises a new development in regional co-operation on the war on terrorism," it said.