NATO and Pakistan agree that the solution to Afghanistan lies in a comprehensive approach involving economic, political and military elements, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Tuesday.

Speaking after talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at NATO headquarters in Brussels, de Hoop Scheffer said both sides agree that all parties involved should step up their efforts to get things right in Afghanistan.

"There is no military answer in Afghanistan. The answer in Afghanistan reads development, reconstruction, where Pakistan also plays a role," he told reporters.

They agree that efforts should be made on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to prevent Taliban sympathizers from crossing the border to attack NATO and Afghan army troops, the NATO chief said.

Aziz, the most senior Pakistani official to visit NATO headquarters to date, met representatives of NATO's 26 member countries on Tuesday. Discussions focused on Afghanistan, where NATO is leading the 32,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

NATO and Pakistan have shared objectives and are both committed to a strong, stable, peaceful Afghanistan, Aziz told reporters afterwards.

"Pakistan is committed to a strong, stable Afghanistan," said the prime minister. "The one country that will benefit the most, after Afghanistan itself, will be Pakistan," he said.

Aziz stressed the need to find a strategy for Afghan refugees in Pakistan in terms of their return to Afghanistan. There are currently three million Afghan refugees in numerous refugee camps in Pakistan's border area, which are seen as likely recruiting grounds for terrorism.

The international community should also focus on reducing drug production in Afghanistan, which is linked to terrorism, he said, noting that this "represents a threat for the whole world."

Highlighting the importance of economic development of Afghanistan, Aziz said both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to be supported by the world community in terms of market access and aid to create jobs and to improve the economies, which will eventually contribute to regional peace.

Aziz said he hoped Tuesday's consultations would be the beginning of better political dialogue with NATO.

Pakistan and NATO have been steadily increasing cooperation since October 2005, when NATO launched a large operation to help aid victims of the devastating earthquake that struck the country.

Pakistani, Afghan and NATO authorities are working together in a joint commission on military and security issues in Afghanistan. Recently, a joint Afghan, ISAF and Pakistani intelligence center was opened in Kabul.

Source: Xinhua