Former Canadian commander of NATO troops in southern Afghanistan says the mission is making headway, but insists Pakistan must help shut down the Taliban. Brig Gen David Fraser discussed Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKayÂ’s recent visit to the region during appearance on CTVÂ’s Canada AM on Wednesday. After trip to Afghanistan, where he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai, MacKay flew to Pakistan and met his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Kasuri, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Pervez Musharraf.
Fraser said the Taliban would not be shut down until Pakistan steps up efforts. “I think in fact problem that Afghanistan and Pakistan face is similar — it’s the Taliban regime. Taliban are using both countries to operate and solution will be Pakistan and Afghanistan working to rid both their countries of this, what I would call a cancer. Progress is being made towards that goal.”
When he first arrived in Afghanistan, there was no working relationship between NATO and Pakistan. By end of his tour, they were having regular discussions and Pakistan had stationed 80,000 troops along border to support Fraser’s operations, he said. “They are working on the issue but there’s more to be done. The solution is in Pakistan working against the Taliban.”