Pakistan and Afghan have agreed that decisions taken at Istanbul summit should be implemented.
Foreign Office spokesperson said on Saturday the two countries
agreed to implement the decisions at the earliest when Pakistani Prime
Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karza met on
the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Maldives.
Commenting on media reports on the meeting between Gilani and Karzai,
the spokesperson said that the bilateral meeting held in a cordial
atmosphere and provided a good opportunity for a frank and in-depth
exchange of views.
Prime Minister Gilani recounted Pakistan’s consistent efforts to have
the best of relations with Afghanistan and several initiatives taken in
this regard, the spokesperson further said.
The foreign office clarified that Pakistan supported an Afghan-led
and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation and peace. Pakistan would
continue to work constructively for strengthening friendly and brotherly
relations with Afghanistan.
“On matters relating to reconciliation and peace, the Prime Minister
said Friday that it was for Afghanistan to specify and lead the process.
Professor Rabbani’s tragic assassination constituted a setback to the
process. Professor Rabbani was highly respected and a good friend of
Pakistan,” the spokesperson cited while setting aside the speculative
approach by section of media.
The spokesperson also repeated the statement of President Karzai in
which he affirmed the importance that Afghanistan attached to its
relations with Pakistan.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan had always demonstrated goodwill
towards Afghanistan and believed that reinvigoration of a cooperative
approach was important.
The Maldives bilateral meeting was a step in that direction, the foreign office said. SANA
