Afghan President Ghani makes phone call to Pakistan PM Khan to discuss peace, security

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday exchanged their views on matters related to peace, security, and prosperity in the region. Afghan President Ghani had made a phone call to Pakistan Prime Minister Khan.

Dawn cited a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) saying that the two leaders resolved to enhance regional connectivity, benefiting the socio-economic development, alleviation of poverty and welfare of people. In the statement, Khan said that for the sake of the people of the two countries, the aim of the leadership should be to help build peace, promote economic activities and advance connectivity for regional prosperity.

"The prolonged Afghan conflict has damaged Afghanistan and adversely affected Pakistan over the past many decades," the statement said. Khan reiterated his vision for finding a peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict, fully owned and led by Afghans themselves.

He even assured Ghani that Pakistan would spare no effort to advance the common objectives of building peace in Afghanistan and having a fruitful bilateral relationship between the two countries. Prime Minister Khan reiterated his invitation to President Ghani to visit Pakistan for a comprehensive exchange of views on all issues of mutual interest, Dawn reported.

The latest interaction between Khan and Ghani came four days (May 1) after a terrorist attack from Afghanistan side attacked Pakistan Army troops undertaking fencing efforts along the Pak-Afghan border in Alwara, North Waziristan, killed three soldiers and injured seven others. Pakistan has been building a fence along its western border to stop the illegal influx of terrorists and smugglers from Afghanistan who often use unfrequented routes to enter Pakistan. However, the government in Kabul has opposed the move.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, so far fencing over a distance of 1,000 km along the borders with Afghanistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan has been completed and the work on the rest is underway.g

(With inputs from agencies.)