Peace process, regional connectivity: Qureshi assures Afghan counterpart of firm support

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Haneef Atmar on the sidelines of Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Kabul on Thursday, and reviewed complete gamut of bilateral relations, developments in the Afghan peace process, regional connectivity, and people-to-people contacts.

The foreign minister assured his Afghan counterpart of Pakistan's steadfast support to a peaceful, stable, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan, said a statement of the Foreign Office.

It stated that the foreign minister reiterated Pakistan's consistently-held position that there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict and that Afghans must seize this historic opportunity presented by the US-Taliban peace agreement and subsequent start of Intra-Afghan negotiations for bringing an end to the conflict through inclusive and broad-based political settlement.

He underlined that Pakistan will respect the decisions taken by Afghans in the peace process.

The two foreign ministers noted that recent high-level visits from both sides have led to positive trajectory in bilateral relations, and agreed to take necessary steps to further build on this momentum.

It added that Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed satisfaction at the important decisions taken by the two sides during 7th APTTCA (Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority) meeting held on 17 Nov in Kabul including commencing of negotiations on PTA, progress on revision of APTTA, agreement of cooperation between Customs, and understanding about having an MoU on cooperation between the Central Banks.

"The message of prime minister's visit was that we stand by our position...We wanted peace and we desire it, and will continue to provide full support in this regard," Qureshi stated in a separate statement.

He added that one of the purposes of the visit was to further strengthen relations between the two countries.

Qureshi said he discussed the nature of future relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan with his Afghan counterpart.

He further said Ashraf Ghani will visit Pakistan in the near future.

"Both countries agreed that they will not allow their land to be used for terrorism," he said, adding that the two countries will move forward with the same spirit.

The foreign minister said the transit trade and preferential trade agreements between Pakistan and Afghanistan will help promote the volume of trade and investment between the two countries.

Qureshi noted that peace in Afghanistan was important for peace and stability of the region.

"It is a matter of satisfaction that the world today is acknowledging Pakistan's stance and appreciating its facilitator role in the peace process," Qureshi said, adding that the success of Afghan peace process was imperative for durable peace in Afghanistan.

It stated that Foreign Minister Atmar thanked Foreign Minister Qureshi for Pakistan's support in the Afghan peace process and for the support extended to Afghan nationals during Covid-19 as well as facilitation of trade, transit and pedestrian movement.

The two sides also agreed that sustained peace and stability, enhanced trade, and connectivity would contribute to regional prosperity.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020