KABUL - Afghan and American forces are prepared for any effects of the ongoing military operation in Pakistan’s tribal region of North Waziristan, including extremists seeking refuge in the landlocked country, a senior US military commander said on Tuesday.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander Gen. Joseph Dunford said in an interview the US had stepped up surveillance over the Afghanistan-Pakistani border since the air blitz in Waziristan began.

He told the news agency Associated Press: "The Afghan forces as well as our forces are fully prepared to deal with the second-order effects of the Pakistani operations in North Waziristan,"

He hoped the incoming Afghan president would ink the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) allowing up to 14,000 foreign troops to stay in the country to advise the Afghans and conduct counterterrorism missions.

The US and NATO needed the security agreement to continue to train and advise Afghan security forces, Dunford insisted, urging the next president to have an inclusive government and reach out to all ethnic groups.

The level of violence during the runoff presidential election had been lower than during the first round of voting in April, he noted. "What we've seen is that the Taliban have been unable, right now, to maintain any kind of momentum against the Afghan security forces."

He added differences had surfaced between the Taliban leaders and the rank-and-file militants in the provinces. He believed the insurgents’ morale had been affected adversely as a result of the lack of success. (Pajhwok)