Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is heading a high-level delegation to Afghanistan today (Tuesday). Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said that the Prime Minister is undertaking the visit on the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He will also be accompanied on his day-long visit by his Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Shairf, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and other senior officials.
The Foreign Office statement stated that Prime Minister's visit to Afghanistan would further strengthen the positive momentum in bilateral relations and help intensify common endeavours in the pursuit of durable peace, stability and prosperity in the region. But it contains no detail agenda of Prime Minister and his delegation talks with Afghan leadership during his visit.
However, sources privy to the agenda told Business Recorder that besides issues of mutual interest, the Prime Minister and his delegation will discuss the on-going contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents as well as the future plan for success of the dialogue process. Afghan government officials and Taliban representatives recently met in Qatar's capital Doha, in which the two sides also agreed on reopening the Taliban's political office for future dialogue.
The sources said that the civil and military leadership of the two countries would also hold deliberations on bilateral co-operation in counter-terrorism as well as collaboration on better border management. They further said that the Prime Minister and Army Chief will also share their concerns with the Afghan leadership on the involvement of India in Balochistan and the bordering areas.
"Building close co-operative relations with Afghanistan is a high priority in Pakistan's foreign policy and a vital component of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's vision of a "peaceful neighbourhood," Foreign Office spokesperson said, adding the Prime Minister's visit is taking place at a time when bilateral relations between the two countries are underpinned by unprecedented warmth, mutual trust and a shared vision of working in lockstep to build a peaceful and stable region.
During his visit, the Prime Minister will also hold a meeting with the Afghan Chief Executive, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, and a delegation-level talks with the Afghan side. This will be the Prime Minister's second visit to Afghanistan and the first after the installation of National Unity Government in Kabul. Earlier, the Prime Minister visited Afghanistan on November 30, 2013.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minster chaired a high-level meeting at the PM House to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan relations in all dimensions, according to statement by PM House. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, SAPM Tariq Fatemi, Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat and Secretary Foreign Affairs Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry among other senior government officials.
The meeting was a pre-cursor to Prime Minister's Kabul visit by a Pakistani delegation led by the Prime Minister, in which CoAS would also accompany him. "It was reiterated to consolidate and further improve bilateral relations between the two neighbouring brotherly countries," the statement added.