Senior Afghan official meets Qureshi; discusses peace process, bilateral ties

Abdullah, who arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a three-day visit, said he had a constructive meeting with Qureshi. "We discussed the #PeaceProcess, the intra-Afghan talks in Doha, & strengthening bilateral relations," tweeted Abdullah, who heads the High Council for National Reconciliation of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's senior peace official Abdullah Abdullah on Monday met Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the Afghan peace process as well as bilateral relations. Abdullah, who arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a three-day visit, said he had a constructive meeting with Qureshi.

"We discussed the #PeaceProcess, the intra-Afghan talks in Doha, & strengthening bilateral relations," tweeted Abdullah, who heads the High Council for National Reconciliation of Afghanistan. Abdullah, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation, will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi.

During his meeting with Abdullah, Qureshi expressed hope that his visit will open a new chapter in bilateral ties, further strengthen relations and forge a common understanding on the Afghan peace process, Pakistan's foreign office said in a tweet. Qureshi emphasized that Pakistan had always maintained that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict and encouraged all parties to reach a political solution through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process.

He said that "there was a need to guard against the detrimental role of ‘spoilers’, both within and outside Afghanistan, who do not wish to see the return of peace in the region", according to the FO. Welcoming the inaugural ceremony of Intra-Afghan Negotiations, held in Doha on September 12, he said that it was now up to the Afghan leadership to seize this historic opportunity to bring an end to the decades long conflict and secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement.

He underscored Pakistan’s support for a peaceful, stable, united, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan. He also stressed that mistakes of the past should not be repeated; nor should past history dictate the future course of action. Emphasizing the importance of bilateral economic relations, Qureshi said that negotiations for Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and revision of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) will commence soon to optimally utilize capacities for mutually beneficial trade and transit.

He stressed that the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland with dignity and honour should be part of the peace and reconciliation process. Qureshi said that terrorism was a common threat and emphasized the need for close cooperation through bilateral institutional mechanisms including relevant working groups of APAPPS for effective border management.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)