Amid increasing violence in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will embark on a daylong visit to Kabul on Saturday in a bid to reset the estranged ties marred by trust deficit.
In his first foreign trip as the foreign minister to be undertaken on the invitation of his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani, Foreign Office sources said that Qureshi will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and senior officials of the Foreign Office as well as Pakistan Army.
The sources said that Qureshi during his visit will hold bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Rabbani on issues of mutual interests, including the implementation of Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), a joint action plan for cooperation on counterterrorism, reduction of violence, bilateral trade and transit, connectivity, and people-to-people contacts.
Qureshi will also hold meeting with President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and members of the Afghan High Peace Council to discuss bilateral issues especially the efforts to bring Afghan Taliban to talks.
In his talks with Afghan leadership, the sources said that the foreign minister will convey the new government's message of supporting the Afghan peace process and a proposal of joint cooperation to eradicate terrorism and prevent the non-state actors from using each other's soil against anyone.
They said that the two sides would also discuss the increasing threat posed by Daesh to both the countries. In recent past, the sources said, Daesh, a global terror network, has increased its footprint in restive areas of Afghanistan, especially near the Pakistan-Afghan border which is a serious source of concern for Pakistan.
In recent communications with top Afghan leadership, the sources said that the new government of PTI has conveyed to the government of Afghanistan that it is ready to extend all possible cooperation to facilitate President Ghani's agenda of political reconciliation with Taliban.
The recent independent studies suggest that Taliban are active in more than 70 percent Afghan territories, giving a tough time to Afghan government while the Afghan authorities instead of establishing their active writ have often accused Pakistan of supporting the insurgents. Pakistan, however, denied all the accusations leveled by senior Afghan officials.
"The main objective of the visit is to convey a message of cooperation and a gesture that Pakistan is ready to play its role in the restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as to bridge the widening gap in relations due to trust deficit," a senior government official said.
He said that the two sides would discuss the effective implementation of the APAPPS, adding that it is a mechanism which provides the opportunity to both the countries to address their mutual concerns instead of indulging in a blame game.
"We believe that APAPPS is a forum where all the issues can be resolved through mutual consultations, as the policy of allegations and counter-allegations has never proved to be a solution to the mutual issues of the two countries," the official insisted.
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