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KABUL: Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman met with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, where they discussed ways of improving bilateral ties between the neighboring countries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The two sides discussed expansion of diplomatic, economic and security relations as well as strengthening trade between the two countries and the issues of the Afghan refugees.
In a separate meeting he also met Deputy Foreign Minister of Pakistan Sohail Mehmood, where they shed lights over important mutual issues.
The both sides discussed expansion and enhancement of relations between the countries, the peace process, growth of trade, transportation, improvement of the lives of Afghan refugees and the process of their dignified return to their homeland.
This is while Pakistan, as Kabul believes, has been behind most of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan. However, the country hosted the first quarterly review session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) on Monday in Islamabad.
Given chance for improvement of ties between the neighboring countries and the peace process were focal points of discussions between Zaman and Mahmood, MoFA’s statement added.
Ali Amiri, a university professor and political analyst in Kabul, has casted doubt over recent Afghan officials meeting in Pakistan, terming it unproductive as previous one.
According foreign ministry, President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to Pakistan was also discussed during the session—President Ghani is scheduled to visit Pakistan on June 27.
Moreover, Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sibghatullah Ahmadi briefed media on the visit of a delegation from Afghanistan to Pakistan headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman, recent visit of the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and that of Germany’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Markus Potzel.
Ahmadi noted that Pakistan was an important country in the region and reiterated Afghanistan’s policy of having cordial and concrete relations with all countries, particularly the Pakistan. He expressed hope that Afghanistan’s efforts, particularly the recent visit of the Afghan Delegation, leads to practical steps being taken by Pakistan.
Appreciating the efforts made by the State of Qatar for bringing about peace Afghanistan, Mr. Ahmadi informed of the readiness of countries like Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Germany for hosting the peace talks between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Taliban representatives.
Since longtime, Afghanistan taking Pakistan responsible for harboring Taliban insurgents in its soil who are chalking out plans against Afghanistan while setting in their safe havens in the very nose of Pakistan military establishment.
