DUSHANBE: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan
counterpart, Hamid Karzai, have welcomed the setting up of a joint
military commission to deal with unwanted cross-border incidents that
could hamper the amicable equation of the two countries.
The
two leaders met in Dushanbe on the sidelines of the third Quadrilateral
Summit among Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Russian
Federation.
Issues related to Pak-Afghan Transit Trade
Agreement also came under discussion. The two Presidents agreed upon
the need to resolve all the issues in this regard, if any.
Other
matters that came under discussion included situation in Afghanistan,
war against militancy, regional situation, developmental projects in
the region with special reference to the energy projects under
consideration, reconciliation process undergoing in Afghanistan and
post 2014 future scenario.
They also discussed the issue of
Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement and emphasized on its smooth
functioning, and agreed that issues, if any, in the new agreement would
be resolved soon.
Zardari assured Karzai that Pakistan was fully supportive of the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
He
said that Islamabad was committed to support Afghanistan in restoring
peace and strengthening its institutional capabilities, adding that
Pakistan wishes to see a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.
He
also said that Pakistan firmly believes in the policy of
non-interference in the internal matters and would support all efforts
by the Afghan Government to restore order in the country and find a
permanent political solution.
Briefing the media about the
meeting, Spokesperson to President Mr. Farhatullah Babar said that the
President while emphasizing upon the need to have trilateral trade
arrangements said that such an arrangement would not only benefit the
people of the three countries would also generate huge economic
activity in Afghanistan.
The President said that connectivity
through all available modes hold the key to the development of the
region by tremendously boosting the mutual trade activities and
prompting people to people contacts.
Talking about situation in
Afghanistan, the President reiterated that stability and peace in
Afghanistan were vital for stability and peace in Pakistan. He said
that our mutual efforts have enabled us opening a new chapter in our
bilateral relationship and we are keen to see a stable and peaceful
Afghanistan on our western side.
The President said that
Pakistan has always called upon the international community to support
and work for the permanent solution to the issues in Afghanistan and we
are ready to provide all possible assistance to the international
community in this regard. He said that Pakistan would continue to
support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation.
The
President said that we look forward to the fifth meeting of the
trilateral ‘Core Group’ later this month in the USA. He said that
Islamabad would soon host the 2nd working level meeting of the Joint
Commission for Peace Reconciliation. The President said that the
success of Afghanistan transition hinges on the progress in
reconciliation with various factions as well as preparedness to Afghan
institutions to handle its responsibilities.
He said that Pakistan was ready to provide all help in capacity building of Afghan institutions.
Discussing
development of Afghanistan, the President highlighted that the two
countries direly need energy avenues to meet their developmental
requirements. He said that we should work zealously on all the energy
related projects to meet our growing needs and to expedite process of
development. The President also emphasized upon the early
implementation of CASA-1000 project.
During meeting the
President also called upon international funding agencies to honor
their commitments with respect to vital projects that promise a new era
of development and prosperity in the region.
Recent incidents
on the border also came under discussion during the meeting. The two
leaders welcomed setting up of a joint military commission to deal with
such unwanted incidents that could hamper the amicable equation of the
two countries.
The two President also welcomed the holding of
third Quadrilateral Summit in Dushanbe by Tajikistan hoping that the
forum would help to bring the participating countries further closer to
one another and would provide them with an opportunity to not only find
ways and means for promoting development in their countries but would
also help to find regional solutions to the regional problems.
Foreign
Minister Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Defence Minister Ch. Ahmed Mukhtar,
Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim Hussain, Chairman BOI Mr. Saleem H.
Mandviwala, Pakistan Ambassador in Tajikistan Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial
and Spokesperson to the President Mr. Farhatullah Babar were present
during the meeting. Online
