Afghanistan: The border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan is an under-governed area which hosts terrorist cells active in both countries. The Government of Afghanistan has struggled to assert control over this remote terrain where the population is largely detached from national institutions. Afghanistan generally cooperates with U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Since President Ghani's election, he has actively pursued cross-border security cooperation with the Government of Pakistan, including the prospect of joint operations to reduce safe havens on both sides of the border.

Several terrorist networks active in Afghanistan, such as al-Qa'ida (AQ), the Haqqani Network, and others, operate largely out of Pakistan. AQ has some freedom of movement in Kunar and Nuristan provinces largely due to a lack of Afghan National Security Forces' capacity to control certain border territories in north and east Afghanistan. During 2014, the Afghan government continued to counter the Afghan Taliban and Taliban-affiliated insurgent networks with AQ connections.

The potential for WMD trafficking and proliferation remained a concern in Afghanistan because of its porous borders and the presence of terrorist groups. The U.S. government worked with the Government of Afghanistan to implement comprehensive strategic trade controls and strengthen its border security system. The Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program contributed to strengthening Afghanistan's enforcement capacity through participation in a technical exchange conducted by the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection agency. To increase the Government of Afghanistan's strategic trade control capacity, EXBS sponsored training for an Afghan delegation. Representatives from the Afghan Atomic Energy High Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended a course at the University of Georgia, Center for International Trade Security, covering a wide variety of nonproliferation topics and allowed for regional nonproliferation dialogue. The U.S. Border Management Task Force also worked closely with Afghan officials to prevent the proliferation of and trafficking of WMD in and through Afghanistan.

The United States continued to assist the Afghan government to build capacity needed to secure potentially dangerous biological materials and infrastructure housed at Afghan facilities, promote surveillance capabilities to detect and identify possibly catastrophic biological events, and productively engage Afghan scientists and engineers that have WMD or WMD-applicable expertise.

Pakistan: Portions of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and Balochistan province remained a safe haven for terrorist groups seeking to conduct domestic, regional, and global attacks. Al-Qa'ida, the Haqqani Network (HQN), Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar i Jhangvi, and other terrorist groups, as well as the Afghan Taliban, took advantage of this safe haven to plan operations in Pakistan and throughout the region.

In 2014, Pakistan launched military operations in North Waziristan Agency and Khyber Agency to eliminate terrorist safe havens, destroy terrorist infrastructure, and disrupt terrorist communication networks. The military operations had a significant impact on TTP safe havens, but some terrorist organizations in the region continued to operate, primarily along the border with Afghanistan. Particularly since the start of comprehensive military operations in North Waziristan displaced militants into Afghanistan, Pakistan has sought improved coordination to address cross-border threats from TTP emanating from safe havens in Afghanistan.

The United States and Pakistan regularly discussed counterterrorism and border-control efforts to interdict terrorists. The 2013 trilateral border standard operating procedures between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and ISAF expired at the end of 2014. Pakistan and Afghanistan continued to negotiate a replacement bilateral agreement.

The potential for WMD trafficking, proliferation, and terrorism remained a concern in Pakistan. Pakistan is a constructive and active participant in the Nuclear Security Summit process and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, and has worked to strengthen its strategic trade controls. The Export Control and Related Border Security Program increased the Government of Pakistan's enforcement capacity by training Pakistani Customs officials on international border interdiction techniques. Trainings were implemented by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Customs and Border Protection Agency; and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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