Afghan president calls for close relations with Pakistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday called for close and friendly relations with his country' s immediate neighbor Pakistan. "Once again I am calling on Pakistan to choose the way of friendship," Karzai said at a press conference in his fortified Palace here. He made the appeal in the wake of the clash between border guards of the two countries along the Durand Line in Goshta district of the eastern Nangarhar province Wednesday night that claimed the life of an Afghan policeman and injured two Pakistani troopers. Durand Line, which divides the two neighboring countries, has not been recognized as official border by Afghanistan. Karzai categorically stated that the "Afghan nation has not recognized the Durand Line and would not accept it in future." However, the Afghan president pointed that he had visited Pakistan 19 times with the objective to build friendly relations. The Afghan leader said his government would ink the proposed security pact with the United States if Afghanistan's national interest is respected. Going into details, Karzai said that his government wants the United States to properly equip Afghan national security forcces, to support its economy and ensure his country's viable security. Karzai also called on the Taliban to give up fighting and defend the Afghanistan soil like the young man Qasim did, a reference to the Afghan policeman who was killed in a clash with Pakistani forces in Goshta district of Nangahar on Wednesday night.