VOA常速英语2007年-Pakistan, Afghanistan Governments Pledge Enhanc

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
26 December 2007

Pakistan and Afghanistan have pledged to enhance cooperation between their spy agencies and tighten¹ border controls in an effort to curb² militant³ activities on both sides of the border. From the Pakistani capital, Ayaz Gul reports President Pervez Musharraf and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai made the pledge at a meeting in Islamabad.

President Karzai arrived in Islamabad on a two-day official visit and held wide-ranging talks with his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musaharraf. Speaking at a joint⁴ news conference after the meeting, both leaders described their talks "excellent" and "productive".

President Musharraf says that the discussions mainly focused on how to increase anti-terror cooperation because terrorism, as he put it, is destroying both the countries. He says that in order to meet the menace of terrorism both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to boost intelligence sharing.

"People of both the countries are suffering at the hands of these extremists terrorists," he said. "To meet this challenge and threat we discussed how we could cooperate on the intelligence side. The two intelligence agencies on both sides must cooperate more strongly if we are to deal with terrorists and extremists more effectively. That is the key."

The Pakistani leader says that in his talks with the Afghan president he also underlined the importance of tightening⁵ border controls to discourage militant activity on both sides of their common border.

Both leaders are considered vital U.S allies in the war against terrorism and have met at a time when pro-Taliban and al-Qaida militants⁶ have increased attacks especially in Pakistan, a fact President Karzai acknowledged at the Wednesday's news conference.

"There is reduced [militant] activity on the Afghan side as unfortunately there is an increased [militant] activity on the Pakistani side," he said. "We have recognized that there is a problem that we are both facing, what are the roots of these problems what are the sources and backups of these militant groups in both the countries. That is something we have discussed."

Suicide bombers⁷ have frequently struck in both the countries. But officials say that in the past year alone more than 50 suicide bomb attacks killed more than 600 people in Pakistan.

Afghan leaders in the past repeatedly alleged⁸ that Taliban militants are using bases inside Pakistani border regions for attacks in Afghanistan.

But observers say that at an August meeting in Kabul, officials, politicians, scholars, intellectuals and civil society representatives from both countries toned down the rhetoric⁹.

1 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。