Pak, Afghan intelligence officials to meet on Feb 4 to bridge trust deficit

In a bid to bridge their trust chasm, intelligence agencies of Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to hold talks on February 4.

Dawn reported that the bilateral intelligence dialogue is being facilitated by the United States, while China will attend as an observer.

Intelligence officials from the US and China will be visiting Islamabad for the meeting.

The chief of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), Masoud Andarabi, will visit Islamabad for a meeting with the Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar.

The visit takes place as the two countries resume their cooperation to get the Afghan reconciliation process back on track after a suspension of several months.

The official emphasized that the intelligence dialogue, was not linked to the reconciliation effort but could contribute in improving the prospects of that initiative.

The four countries are also part of a Quadrilateral Framework on the Afghan reconciliation.