Daily Times

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Sunday agreed to make joint efforts for availing their geographic locations to enhance regional connectivity and bring peace, stability and development to the region.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani telephoned Prime Minister Imran Khan wherein they discussed bilateral ties and agreed to realise the true economic potential of the two countries for socio-economic development, alleviation of poverty, and welfare of the two peoples. The two leaders exchanged views on matters relating to peace, security and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region, a PM Office statement said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the spirit of brotherhood defines Pakistan’s approach towards Afghanistan. He said the prolonged Afghan conflict has damaged Afghanistan and adversely affected Pakistan over the past many decades. For the sake of the two peoples, the aim of the leadership should be to help build peace, promote economic progress, and advance connectivity for regional prosperity, he maintained.

The prime minister reiterated his vision for finding a peaceful solution in Afghanistan, fully owned and led by the Afghans themselves. He underlined that Pakistan will spare no efforts to advance the common objectives of building peace in Afghanistan and having a fruitful relationship between the two brotherly countries.

The prime minister reiterated his invitation to President Ashraf Ghani to visit Pakistan for a comprehensive exchange of views on all issues of mutual interest. Dates for the visit will be decided though mutual consultations, the statement concluded.

According to a press statement issued by the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Imran Khan told President Ghani that his country is ready for ‘any cooperation’ which will lead to peace and stability in Afghanistan. “He (Imran Khan) is agreed with President Ghani’s economy-centric idea and regional connectivity and that it requires further talks between delegations from the two countries about technical issues of these topics,” the statement read.

Ghani, meanwhile, appreciated Pakistani prime minister’s commitment for cooperation in the Afghan peace process and said the new spirit of economy-centric and regional connectivity by Pakistan is appreciable.

According to the statement, Ghani accepted Imran Khan’s invitation for visiting Islamabad.

The development comes a day after Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the charge d’affaires of Pakistan’s embassy to denounce alleged violation of its airspace and cross-Durand Line shelling by Pakistani military on parts of Afghanistan.

The ministry in a statement also condemned attacks on the two countries border forces. According to the statement, the ministry once again called on Pakistan to fight these groups without distinction. “The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan once again encouraged Pakistan to fight honestly and without distinction, respecting good neighborly relations and building trust, on the basis of a result-oriented mechanism,” read the statement.

At least three Pakistani soldiers were killed and seven others wounded when a group of militants from the Afghan side of the Durand Line attacked Pakistani troops in Alwara, North Waziristan. “While Pakistan’s security forces are solidifying border security through fencing and construction of forts to deny liberty of action to the terrorists, Afghan security forces and the authorities need to have more effective control in [the] border region to support Pakistan’s efforts as well as deny use of Afghan soil against Pakistan,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said in a statement after the attack.

Ahe Afghan charge d’affaires was also called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad where he was informed about Pakistan’s concerns about repeated cross-Durand Line attacks from Afghanistan’s soil. The Afghan diplomat was informed that Pakistan strongly protests such provocations which are detrimental to peace and stability along the common border. The Afghan side was urged to take immediate action against the elements on their side and ensure effective measures so that such incidents are not repeated in future.