Afghan, Pakistani Security Officials Meet In Islamabad

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in London in April.

Afghan and Pakistani security officials are meeting in Islamabad amid heightened tensions between the two neighbors.

Hanif Atmar, the Afghan president’s national security adviser, is holding talks with Pakistan's powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on May 27.

A statement from the Afghan presidential office on May 26 said the Afghan delegation was invited by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to visit and discuss the security problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the region.

Afghanistan and the United States have been increasing pressure on Pakistan to take action against militants operating in the country.

Islamabad denies harboring militant groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which carry out attacks in Afghanistan.

Afghan and Pakistani officials are also expected to discuss a series of deadly border clashes in recent months along their disputed border.

In April, clashes broke out between Pakistani paramilitary troops and Afghan border police in three locations along the border, leaving several dead on both sides.

The two nations share a 2,500-kilometer border known as the Durand Line, which Pakistan considers to be an international border. Afghanistan rejects the colonial-era border that was created in 1893.

Based on reporting by Tolo News and Khaama