Sir: President Asif Zardari and Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Spanta have agreed to convene a Pak-Afghan jirga. The intention is to encourage cooperation at various levels between the two countries and improve relations, especially in the face of insurgency and violence along the Durand Line. This jirga will not be the first of its kind, as two similar meetings have been organised over the last couple of years. What was missing in both those jirgas was a concrete assessment of the problems facing both countries, and a joint policy that can improve the situation. One hopes that this coming jirga will not be another pointless exercise, and that both sides, instead of mouthing platitudes or throwing accusations, will take a constructive route to help alleviate the problems facing Pakistan and Afghanistan.NOFIL AKRAMIslamabad