Pakistani Leader Visits Kabul, Urges Cooperation

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan and Afghanistan should work together to fight terrorism, whether the source is Al Qaeda or the Taliban, Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday on a visit to the Afghan capital.

At a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Musharraf also was adamant that U.S.-led forces hunting terrorists in Afghanistan would never be allowed to cross into Pakistan to hunt for anyone fleeing across the border.

“This is not possible at all, that we will ever allow any foreigner at all coming into that area,” Musharraf said.

Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of allowing Taliban militants to operate openly in the tribal border areas. This year, those accusations spilled over into hostility between the two nations, with each accusing the other of harboring terrorists.

Pakistan also has faced increased pressure in recent months from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which in August took over security control from the U.S.-led coalition in the troubled south. Leaders of NATO nations have said Pakistan is not doing enough.

Britain’s Defense Ministry announced that two of its soldiers were killed and several were seriously injured in Helmand province. One of the soldiers was killed by a land mine, the other “in a contact with insurgent forces,” a ministry statement said.

A third British soldier died of injuries suffered in an attack Friday in the same province.